Shape change of tensegrity structures: design and control

This paper focusses on shape changes of tensegrity structures. An optimization method is developed for design of a reference trajectory for shape changes of an arbitrary tensegrity structure. By defining an objective and constraints related to the shape change, constrained optimization is used to determine the reference trajectory. To improve suppression of vibrations during the shape change, an H₂ controller is used in a feedback loop. To illustrate the use of the optimization method and selected control strategy, a shape change is simulated and the results are presented.