Dynamic simulation of six-strut tensegrity robot rolling

Abstract

This paper describes dynamic simulation of rolling locomotion of a tensegrity robot. Tensegrity is a mechanical structure consisting of a set of rigid elements connected by elastic tensional elements. We have succeeded to build a robot with tensegrity structure that can roll over a flat ground and experimentally investigated how to drive the tensegrity robot. But, experimental investigation requires much time since a tensegrity robot has a large number of actuators. Thus, we will build a dynamic simulation of tensegrity robot rolling to evaluate the rolling performance via simulation. First, we show the prototype of a six-strut tensegrity robot, which is driven by twenty-four pneumatic McKibben actuators. Topology and geometry of the tensegrity robot are then described. Second, we will formulate dynamic motion of each strut using quaternion. Contact between a strut and the ground is formulated by constraint stabilization method. Finally, we show simulation results, which are compared with experimental results.