Design of SUPERball v2, a Compliant Tensegrity Robot for Absorbing Large Impacts

Vespignani, Massimo; Friesen, Jeffrey M.; SunSpiral, Vytas; Bruce, Jonathan

doi:10.1109/iros.2018.8594374

Cited by 70 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The preliminary analysis (Littlefield et al, 2017) utilized physical parameters based on the original prototype of SUPERball, but allowed actuation of all cables in anticipation of the next prototype. Recently, the second prototype has been completed, featuring greatly increased cable elasticity and actuation range (Vespignani et al, 2018). This effectively causes system behavior to be smoother and less stiff, with increased dynamical influence of stored elastic energy.…”

Section: Problem Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinodynamic planning for spherical tensegrity locomotion with effective gait primitives

Littlefield

Surovik

Vespignani

et al. 2019

The International Journal of Robotics Research

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Tensegrity-based robots can achieve locomotion through shape deformation and compliance. They are highly adaptable to their surroundings, and are lightweight, low cost, and physically robust. Their high dimensionality and strongly dynamic nature, however, can complicate motion planning. Efforts to date have primarily considered quasi-static reconfiguration and short-term dynamic motion of tensegrity robots, which do not fully exploit the underlying system dynamics in the long term. Longer-horizon planning has previously required costly search over the full space of valid control inputs. This work synthesizes new and existing approaches to produce dynamic long-term motion while balancing the computational demand. A numerical process based upon quasi-static assumptions is first applied to deform the system into an unstable configuration, causing forward motion. The dynamical characteristics of the result are then altered via a few simple parameters to produce a small but diverse set of useful behaviors. The proposed approach takes advantage of identified symmetries on the prototypical spherical tensegrity robot, which reduce the number of needed gaits but allow motion along different directions. These gaits are first combined with a standard search method to achieve long-term planning in environments where the developed gaits are effective. For more complex environments, the various motion primitives are paired with the fall-back option of random valid actions and are used by an informed sampling-based kinodynamic motion planner with anytime properties. Evaluations using a physics-based model for the prototypical robot demonstrate that modest but efficiently applied search effort can unlock the utility of dynamic tensegrity motion to produce high-quality solutions.

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Section: Problem Domainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinodynamic planning for spherical tensegrity locomotion with effective gait primitives

Littlefield

Surovik

Vespignani

et al. 2019

The International Journal of Robotics Research

Self Cite

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“…Tensegrity mechanisms have been more recently studied for their promising properties in robotics such as low inertia, natural compliance and deployability [5], [6], [7]. They are also interesting candidates to design locomotion systems [8], [9], [10], [11], [12]. A tensegrity mechanism is obtained when one or several elements are actuated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A bio-inspired 3-DOF light-weight manipulator with tensegrity X-joints

Fasquelle

Furet

Khanna

et al. 2020

2020 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)

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This paper proposes a new kind of lightweight manipulators suitable for safe interactions. The proposed manipulators use anti-parallelogram joints in series, referred to as X-joints. Each X-joint is remotely actuated with cables and springs in parallel, thus realizing a tensegrity one-degree-offreedom mechanism. As compared to manipulators built with simple revolute joints in series, manipulators with tensegrity X-joint offer a number of advantages, such as an intrinsic stability, variable stiffness and lower inertia. This new design was inspired by the musculosleketon architecture of the bird neck that is known to have remarkable features such as a high dexterity. The paper analyzes in detail the kinetostatics of a X-joint and proposes a 3-degree-of-freedom manipulator made of three such joints in series. Both simulation results and experiment results conducted on a test-bed prototype are presented and discussed.

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“…Louani modeled the mathematics of the six-bar tensegrity ball structure robot [24] and analyzed the possible and feasible ways to drive this structure [25][26][27]. NASA proposed a six-bar tensegrity ball robot structure as workable in landing on different surfaces for planetary exploration missions and easy to move and control the structure [28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Static Analysis of Six Bar Tensegrity Ball Structure Robot

Chandio

Raza

Khushak

et al. 2020

SJET

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All pre-stressed structures called as tensegrity structures have been introducing into robotics, modern architectural designs, and medical necessities called bio-tensegrity, space structure alternates, and many other emerging technologies because of its numerous useful properties. Six bar tensegrity ball robot structure has an essential importance in the field of robotics due to its deployable, movable, deformable, and easily controllable capabilities. This structure has 6 rigid bars (in compression) and 24 flexible strings (in tension) that are connected in such a 12 nodes arrangement that provides the highest spatial symmetrical shape to this structure among most of the tensegrity structure. In this paper, the internal forces of bars and strings on each node have been studied, and the force equation on every node has been developed. Furthermore, the balance of all bars and strings forces on the whole structure has been analytically verified to assure the structure remains statically pre-stressed under the zero net effect of all internal forces applied by bars and strings.

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Design of SUPERball v2, a Compliant Tensegrity Robot for Absorbing Large Impacts

Cited by 70 publications

References 23 publications

Kinodynamic planning for spherical tensegrity locomotion with effective gait primitives

Kinodynamic planning for spherical tensegrity locomotion with effective gait primitives

A bio-inspired 3-DOF light-weight manipulator with tensegrity X-joints

Static Analysis of Six Bar Tensegrity Ball Structure Robot

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