Gyroscopic Tensegrity Robots

Mechanics and control of innovative gyroscopic structural systems are detailed in the paper. By adding controllable spinning wheels to a network of controllable, axially loaded strings and bars, it is shown that the mobility and manipulation of the structural system are enhanced. Using principles of mechanics, a nonlinear dynamic model is presented to modulate the torque produced by the network of spatially distributed gyroscopes. Equations of motion, formulated as a second-order matrix differential equation, provide a trajectory for the nodal displacement of the bars, along with the wheel's spin degree of freedom. While the gyroscopic robotics concept is scalable to an arbitrarily large network, this research aims to identify elemental modules to override fundamental design principles of the innovative structural systems. Dynamic simulation and experimental verification on a planar D-bar tensegrity structure are used to demonstrate the utility of one such fundamental building block of the gyroscopic robotic system.