A Review of the State of the Art and Development Trends of Tensegrity Mobile Robots

Based on structures composed of discontinuous compression elements and continuous tensile elements, tensegrity mobile robots combine the load-bearing capacity of rigid structures with the deformability of flexible systems, demonstrating great application potential in fields such as disaster relief, pipeline inspection, planetary exploration, and operations in complex terrains. This paper systematically reviews the state of the art and development trends of tensegrity structures in mobile robotics. First, based on structural composition, existing tensegrity mobile robots are divided into four categories: rolling-gait robots, crawling-gait robots, hopping-gait robots, and multimodal locomotion robots. Their typical locomotion modes, representative advances, and application scenarios are analyzed. Second, this paper summarizes the key technological advancements of tensegrity mobile robots from aspects such as self-stress equilibrium, form-finding methods, actuation mechanisms, modelling and simulation, and control strategies, focusing on cable-actuated, rod-driven, flexible drive, position-based finite element modelling, central pattern generators, and reinforcement learning control. Furthermore, this paper points out that current research still faces many challenges, such as complex dynamic modelling and insufficient locomotion control accuracy. Finally, this paper discusses future development directions. This paper aims to provide a reference for the structural design, locomotion control, and engineering applications of tensegrity mobile robots.