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Robotics Research pp 947–966Cite as

From Quasi-static to Kinodynamic Planning for Spherical Tensegrity Locomotion

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Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics ((SPAR,volume 10))

Abstract

Tensegrity-based robots can achieve locomotion through shape deformation and compliance. They are highly adaptable to their surroundings, have light weight, low cost and high endurance. Their high dimensionality and highly dynamic nature, however, complicate motion planning. So far, only rudimentary quasi-static solutions have been achieved, which do not utilize tensegrity dynamics. This work explores a spectrum of planning methods that increasingly allow dynamic motion for such platforms. Symmetries are first identified for a prototypical spherical tensegrity robot, which reduce the number of needed gaits. Then, a numerical process is proposed for generating quasi-static gaits that move forward the system’s center of mass in different directions. These gaits are combined with a search method to achieve a quasi-static solution. In complex environments, however, this approach is not able to fully explore the space and utilize dynamics. This motivates the application of sampling-based, kinodynamic planners. This paper proposes such a method for tensegrity locomotion that is informed and has anytime properties. The proposed solution allows the generation of dynamic motion and provides good quality solutions. Evaluation using a physics-based model for the prototypical robot highlight the benefits of the proposed scheme and the limits of quasi-static solutions.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Zakary Littlefield, David Surovik & Kostas E. Bekris

  2. Department of Computer Engineering, University of Albany, SUNY, Albany, USA

    Weifu Wang

Authors
  1. Zakary Littlefield
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  2. David Surovik
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  3. Weifu Wang
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  4. Kostas E. Bekris
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kostas E. Bekris .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Nancy M. Amato

  2. Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Greg Hager

  3. Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Shawna Thomas

  4. Department of Electrical Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Miguel Torres-Torriti

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Littlefield, Z., Surovik, D., Wang, W., Bekris, K.E. (2020). From Quasi-static to Kinodynamic Planning for Spherical Tensegrity Locomotion. In: Amato, N., Hager, G., Thomas, S., Torres-Torriti, M. (eds) Robotics Research. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics, vol 10. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28619-4_64

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