Related papers: Rigidity of generic random tensegrity structures
The mechanical properties of biological materials are spatially heterogeneous. Typical tissues are made up of a spanning fibrous extracellular matrix in which various inclusions, such as living cells, are embedded. While the influence of…
Robots built from cable-driven tensegrity (`tension-integrity') structures have many of the advantages of soft robots, such as flexibility and robustness, while still obeying simple statics and dynamics models. However, existing tensegrity…
It is shown that a compound elastic structure, which displays a dynamic instability, may be designed as the union (or 'fusion') of two structures which are stable when separately analyzed. The compound elastic structure has two degrees of…
Tensegrity robots, which are composed of compressive elements (rods) and flexible tensile elements (e.g., cables), have a variety of advantages, including flexibility, low weight, and resistance to mechanical impact. Nevertheless, the…
Tensegrity robots are composed of rigid struts and flexible cables. They constitute an emerging class of hybrid rigid-soft robotic systems and are promising systems for a wide array of applications, ranging from locomotion to assembly. They…
Tensegrity structures are lightweight, can undergo large deformations, and have outstanding robustness capabilities. These unique properties inspired roboticists to investigate their use. However, the morphological design, control,…
In this article a multi-segmented planar tensegrity mechanism was presented. This mechanism has a three-segment structure with each segment residing on top of another. The size of the segments may decrease proportionally from base to top,…
This study presents a finite element analysis approach to non-linear and linearized tensegrity dynamics based on the Lagrangian method with nodal coordinate vectors as the generalized coordinates. In this paper, nonlinear tensegrity…
Piping inspection robots play an essential role for industries as they can reduce human effort and pose a lesser risk to their lives. Generally, the locomotion techniques of these robots can be classified into mechanical and bioinspired. By…
Inspired by the Melan equation we propose a model for suspension bridges with two cables linked to a deck, through inextensible hangers. We write the energy of the system and we derive from variational principles two nonlinear and nonlocal…
Artificial neural networks used for reinforcement learning are structurally rigid, meaning that each optimized parameter of the network is tied to its specific placement in the network structure. It also means that a network only works with…
We study the dynamics of extended rod-like bodies in (or associated with) membranes and films. We demonstrate a striking difference between the mobilities in films and bulk fluids, even when the dissipation is dominated by the fluid stress:…
Microscopic symmetries impose strong constraints on the elasticity of a crystalline solid. In addition to the usual spatial symmetries captured by the tensorial character of the elastic tensor, hidden non-spatial symmetries can occur…
Variable stiffness is a key capability in biological and robotic systems, enabling adaptive interaction across tasks and environments. Mechanical metamaterials offer an alternative to conventional mechatronic solutions by encoding stiffness…
In this paper, lightweight metastructures are designed consisting of prismatic tensegrity building blocks which have excellent strength-to-weight ratio and also enable unique compression-torsion coupling. A theoretical model with coupled…
Complex networks are ubiquitous: a cell, the human brain, a group of people and the Internet are all examples of interconnected many-body systems characterized by macroscopic properties that cannot be trivially deduced from those of their…
The rigidity of elastic networks depends sensitively on their internal connectivity and the nature of the interactions between constituents. Particles interacting via central forces undergo a zero-temperature rigidity-percolation transition…
Mechanical instabilities can be exploited to design innovative structures, able to change their shape in the presence of external stimuli. In this work, we derive a mathematical model of an elastic beam subjected to an axial force and…
Biomimicry has played a pivotal role in robotics. In contrast to rigid robots, bio-inspired robots exhibit an inherent compliance, facilitating versatile movements and operations in constrained spaces. The robot implementation in…
Many biological and engineering materials have nonperiodic microstructures for which classical periodic homogenization results do not apply. Certain nonperiodic microstructures may be approximated by locally periodic microstructures for…