Tensegrity Topology Merging: Mixed-Integer Convex optimization-based Method

Abstract

This paper proposed a mixed-integer convex optimization-based method for merging multiple tensegrity structures. Merging is extremely useful in constructing complex structures, which consist of lots of cables and struts, whereas building such structures from scratch might be infeasible. In addition to that, merging procedure let’s us use human-designed structures as elementary units of resulting object. The proposed method permits utilization of lots of constraints, used during tensegrity generation procedure. At the same time we also try to merge structures with as little additional connections as possible. In comparison to existing approaches, this method is a single-step algorithm and does not make any assumption on shape and relative position of merged structures.