Real-Time Shape Estimation of Tensegrity Structures Using Strut Inclination Angles

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Bhat, Tufail Ahmad, Yoshimitsu, Yuhei, Wada, Kazuki, Ikemoto, Shuhei
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Bhat, Tufail Ahmad
Yoshimitsu, Yuhei
Wada, Kazuki
Ikemoto, Shuhei
author_facet Bhat, Tufail Ahmad
Yoshimitsu, Yuhei
Wada, Kazuki
Ikemoto, Shuhei
contents Tensegrity structures are becoming widely used in robotics, such as continuously bending soft manipulators and mobile robots to explore unknown and uneven environments dynamically. Estimating their shape, which is the foundation of their state, is essential for establishing control. However, on-board sensor-based shape estimation remains difficult despite its importance, because tensegrity structures lack well-defined joints, which makes it challenging to use conventional angle sensors such as potentiometers or encoders for shape estimation. To our knowledge, no existing work has successfully achieved shape estimation using only onboard sensors such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). This study addresses this issue by proposing a novel approach that uses energy minimization to estimate the shape. We validated our method through experiments on a simple Class 1 tensegrity structure, and the results show that the proposed algorithm can estimate the real-time shape of the structure using onboard sensors, even in the presence of external disturbances.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_11868
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Real-Time Shape Estimation of Tensegrity Structures Using Strut Inclination Angles
Bhat, Tufail Ahmad
Yoshimitsu, Yuhei
Wada, Kazuki
Ikemoto, Shuhei
Robotics
Tensegrity structures are becoming widely used in robotics, such as continuously bending soft manipulators and mobile robots to explore unknown and uneven environments dynamically. Estimating their shape, which is the foundation of their state, is essential for establishing control. However, on-board sensor-based shape estimation remains difficult despite its importance, because tensegrity structures lack well-defined joints, which makes it challenging to use conventional angle sensors such as potentiometers or encoders for shape estimation. To our knowledge, no existing work has successfully achieved shape estimation using only onboard sensors such as Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs). This study addresses this issue by proposing a novel approach that uses energy minimization to estimate the shape. We validated our method through experiments on a simple Class 1 tensegrity structure, and the results show that the proposed algorithm can estimate the real-time shape of the structure using onboard sensors, even in the presence of external disturbances.
title Real-Time Shape Estimation of Tensegrity Structures Using Strut Inclination Angles
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.11868