New actuation planning method for the analysis and design of active tensegrity structures

Abstract

This paper deals with actuation planning and control for active tensegrity structures. Within actuation planning, a specific actuation in the form of adjustments of cables’ rest lengths is assigned to the resulting structure to follow a prescribed complex trajectory. The methodology is based on the desired trajectory discretisation and following consecutive actuation optimisation, which employs the dynamic relaxation method. Since the actuation planning problem is treated as static, a controller is designed to suppress possible structural vibrations. With regard to the need to test dynamical properties and simulate the structure’s motion, a methodology for automatic creation of tensegrity computational models in Simscape software is developed in the MATLAB scripting environment. Numerical examples of particular tensegrity structures show the whole algorithm’s efficiency.