Design and Control Prismatic Triangular Tensegrity Robot With Linearly Actuated Struts

Abstract

Abstract Prismatic tensegrity structures represent a novel paradigm of robotic design, characterized by tensioned wires and compressed bars in a form of twisted prism with a fixed base and a flexible top. These structures present an alternative to classic stationary manipulators as they offer several advantages, such as stability of the system, lightweight construction, impact resistance, high payload capacity, and the ability to operate in unstructured environments. However, despite these benefits, prismatic tensegrity-based robot designs face challenges in areas such as the restricted horizontal workspace. To address this issue, this research letter proposes the first prismatic tensegrity manipulator with an active bar mechanism. The proposed robot aims to expand the workspace by adding reachability in the Z-axis. We simplify the control of the manipulator using a neural network. Furthermore, this study highlights the differences between classic active wire and novel active bar actuation mechanisms in tensegrity robot control. This article is organized as follows: robot design concept, research methodology, control strategy, experiments and results, and conclusions.

More by Aidar Shakerimov

• Study on Tensegrity Structure Stability and Payload Manipulability: Triangular vs. Quadrangular DesignsIEEE Workshop on Advanced Robotics and its Social Impacts · 2025 · Citations: 1
• Machine learning-based inverse kinematics scalability for prismatic tensegrity structural manipulatorsRobotics and Autonomous Systems · 2025 · Citations: 9
• QWriter: A Reinforcement Learning-Based Robot for Early Literacy AcquisitionXRDS Crossroads The ACM Magazine for Students · 2023
• QWriter System for Robot-Assisted Alphabet AcquisitionIEEE RO-MAN · 2023 · Citations: 1