Abstract
Compared with traditional rigid robots, tensegrity robots are closer to imitating biological characteristics that give them unique advantages in adapting to their environment and saving energy. Robots for exploring harsh environments must often be compliant with many modes of motion. This paper proposes a snake-shaped modular robot design based on tensegrity structural principles. Tension springs and motorized cables control the relative movement between modules so that a minimum number of actuated degrees of freedom can produce locomotion while retaining flexibility. The structure is simple but can locomote by cyclical application of tension to cables. Prototype modules are used to demonstrate the feasibility of basic snake-like locomotion in physical experiments and establish a basis for kinematic control.
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He, Q., Post, M.A. (2020). An Adaptable Robotic Snake Using a Compliant Actuated Tensegrity Structure for Locomotion. In: Mohammad, A., Dong, X., Russo, M. (eds) Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems. TAROS 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12228. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63486-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63486-5_10
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