Design and control of compliant tensegrity robots through simulation and hardware validation

Caluwaerts, Ken; Despraz, Jérémie; İşçen, Atıl; Sabelhaus, Andrew P.; Bruce, Jonathan; Schrauwen, Benjamin; SunSpiral, Vytas

doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.0520

Cited by 223 publications

(152 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Further deformations move the CoM to the next position, allowing the robot to move in different directions. To explore the interaction between tensegrity robots and the environment, software design platforms were presented in [134] with the aim of exploiting these robots' abilities. Similarly, the jamming behaviour of a skin stuffed with granular material has been exploited to deform a soft ball-like robot and achieve omnidirectional locomotion [135].…”

Section: Alternative Modes Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion

Calisti

Picardi

Laschi

2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

234

147

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Soft robotics and its related technologies enable robot abilities in several robotics domains including, but not exclusively related to, manipulation, manufacturing, human -robot interaction and locomotion. Although field applications have emerged for soft manipulation and human-robot interaction, mobile soft robots appear to remain in the research stage, involving the somehow conflictual goals of having a deformable body and exerting forces on the environment to achieve locomotion. This paper aims to provide a reference guide for researchers approaching mobile soft robotics, to describe the underlying principles of soft robot locomotion with its pros and cons, and to envisage applications and further developments for mobile soft robotics.

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Section: Alternative Modes Of Locomotionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion

Calisti

Picardi

Laschi

2017

J. R. Soc. Interface.

234

147

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“…In earlier work [9], [17], it was shown that for a tensegrity robot, a linear transformation from the sensor signals to the motor signals was enough to generate stable locomotion. The idea behind this is that the body of the robot itself has computing power, and that this power is being harvested by using it as a reservoir.…”

Section: A Embodied Computationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While physical implementations exist ranging from a water bucket [15] to integrated photonics devices [16], robotic implementations are rare. Nevertheless, recent work [9], [17] illustrated that locomotion control can be outsourced to the body of a tensegrity robot: a structure composed of compression elements held together by a compliant tensile network. Stable gait generation was achieved by using only optimized linear feedback from the robot's stretch sensors to its actuator control signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The evolution towards compliance also extends to other parts of the robot as flexible materials are being used for structural parts of the robot. Examples of such robots are the quadrupedal robots Oncilla [6] and StarlETH [7], the i-HY hand, which consists of flexible fingers that can manipulate a wide variety of objects [8], and the tensegrity robot ReCTeR [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Developing an embodied gait on a compliant quadrupedal robot

Degrave

Caluwaerts

Dambre

et al. 2015

2015 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)

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Abstract-Incorporating the body dynamics of compliant robots into their controller architectures can drastically reduce the complexity of locomotion control. An extreme version of this embodied control principle was demonstrated in highly compliant tensegrity robots, for which stable gait generation was achieved by using only optimized linear feedback from the robot's sensors to its actuators. The morphology of quadrupedal robots has previously been used for sensing and for control of a compliant spine, but never for gait generation. In this paper, we successfully apply embodied control to the compliant, quadrupedal Oncilla robot. As initial experiments indicated that mere linear feedback does not suffice, we explore the minimal requirements for robust gait generation in terms of memory and nonlinear complexity. Our results show that a memoryless feedback controller can generate a stable trot by learning the desired nonlinear relation between the input and the output signals. We believe this method can provide a very useful tool for transferring knowledge from open loop to closed loop control on compliant robots.

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“…The final design was inspired by the tensegrity robotics work at the Intelligent Robotics group at nAsA's Ames Research Center, in collaboration with a number of international universities [CDI+14]. The term tensegrity refers to tensional integrity, where the components, such as trusses, are isolated and under constant compression, provided by continuous tension from connecting cables.…”

Section: Fig 8: Chair Concept From the First Iteration Cycle (A) To mentioning

confidence: 99%

How to design and fly your humanly space object in space?

Balint

Hall

2016

Acta Astronautica

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Today's space exploration, both robotic-and human-exploration driven, is dominated by objects and artifacts which are mostly conceived, designed and built through technology and engineering approaches. They are functional, reliable, safe, and expensive. Building on considerations and concepts established in an earlier paper, we can state that the current approach leaves very little room for art and design based objects, as organizations-typically led by engineers, project and business managers-see the inclusion of these disciplines and artifacts as nice to have instead of a genuine need, let alone requirement. In this paper we will other initial discussions about where design and engineering practices are different or similar and how to bridge them. Highlight the benefits that domains such as design or art can other to space exploration. some of the design considerations and approaches will be demonstrated through the double diamond of divergence-convergence cycles of design, leading to an experimental piece called a "cybernetic astronaut chair", which was designed as a form of abstraction and discussion point to highlight a subset of concepts and ideas that designers may consider when designing objects for space use, with attention to human-centered or humanly interactions. Although there are few suggested functional needs for chairs in space, they can provide reassuring emotional experiences from home, while being far away from home. In zero gravity, back-to-back seats provide affordances-or add variety in a cybernetic sense-to accommodate two astronauts simultaneously, while implying the circularity of cybernetics in a rather symbolic way. The cybernetic astronaut chair allows us to refine the three-actor model proposed in a previous paper, defining the circular interactions between the artist or designer; object or process; and user or observer. We will also dedicate a brief discussion to the process of navigating through the complex regulations of space agencies, from solicitations through development and testing, to space flight. The provided insights to designers and artists, related to agency-driven processes and requirements, may help to deconvolute the steps and may lead to flying their objects or artifacts in space.

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Design and control of compliant tensegrity robots through simulation and hardware validation

Cited by 223 publications

References 43 publications

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion

Fundamentals of soft robot locomotion

Developing an embodied gait on a compliant quadrupedal robot

How to design and fly your humanly space object in space?

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