Workspace Analysis of Tensegrity Structures with an Iterative Energy-based Algorithm

The paper studies the use of energy-based forward and inverse kinematics procedures for calculation of operational space of tensegrity robotics structures. Tensegrity structures are compliant and highly dynamical, which makes them a favorable robotics component for a number of difficult tasks (such as collaborative robotics, space exploration and others), but at the same times make trajectory planning and control highly non-trivial.In the paper it is demonstrated that the studied forward and inverse kinematics methods can be used to find workspaces of tensegrity structures, using six bar structure as an example. It is shown that the method can adjust to the choice of actuated and passive elastic elements, making it a design tool which maps the actuation pattern to the resulting workspace or to the law of change of the rest lengths of the actuated elastic elements.