Kinematic, static and dynamic analysis of a planar 2-DOF tensegrity mechanism

Tensegrity mechanisms are lightweight, deployable and can be accurately modeled. Consequently, they constitute an interesting alternative to conventional mechanisms for some applications. In this work, the kinematics, statics and dynamics of a planar two-degree-of-freedom tensegrity mechanism are studied. Solutions to the direct and inverse static problems are first presented. Afterwards, the boundaries of the actuator and Cartesian workspaces of the mechanism are computed. The stiffness of the mechanism is then detailed for different situations. Finally, a dynamic model is derived and a preliminary control scheme is proposed.