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The use of tensegrity structures in soft robotics has seen an increased interest in recent years thanks to their mechanical properties, but the control of these systems remains an open problem. This paper presents a reconfiguration strategy for actuated multi-stage tensegrity structures. The algorithm works on the principle of using the infinitesimal mechanisms of the structure to generate a path of positions along which a multistage tensegrity structure can change its shape while maintaining the self-equilibrium. Combining the force density method with a marching procedure, the solution to the equilibrium problem is given by a set of differential equations that define the kinematic constraints of the structure. Beginning from an initial stable position, the algorithm calculates a small displacement until a new stable configuration is reached, and recurrently repeats the process during a given interval of time. By means of three numerical examples, we show the efficacy of our algorithm for reconfiguring a two-stage tensegrity mast along different directions.

In tensegrity robots, the ball tensegrity robot attracts the most attention. The method of driving the ball tensegrity robot is analyzed here. At first, the ball tensegrity structure is described, and its mathematical model is setup. Through analysis, the method for driving bars to make the robot deform and roll is selected. A method for analyzing the deformation of the tensegrity robot is studied. In the method, the nodes are regarded as the objects and displacement increment of the nodes is the product of displacement mode of the robot structure and unbalanced forces on the nodes. The method is applied to analyze deformation of the robot driven by the bars. The methods of driving the robot on two ground-touching triangles are studied. Then, through experiments with the physical model, the methods are verified. A continuous movement of the model is done further to prove the correctness of the analysis. The method for driving bars to make the ball tensegrity robot deform and roll is obtained finally.

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