Development of Tensegrity Manipulator Driven by 40 Pneumatic Cylinders for Investigating Functionality in Hyper-Redundant Musculoskeletal Systems

Musculoskeletal systems are characterized by their structural softness and drive redundancy. The objective of this study was to reproduce these features using a tensegrity manipulator. The developed tensegrity manipulator was formed by replacing 40 of the 80 cables of class-1 tensegrity consisting of 20 struts with pneumatic cylinders to allow it to bend actively. This paper presents the design details of the manipulator and an analysis of its characteristics during various motions. We confirmed that this robotic platform could reproduce abstract features of the musculoskeletal system. In addition, we discuss the issues that must be addressed in the control of this robot according to the experimental results.