Design of a Vibration Driven Motion System Based on a Multistable Tensegrity Structure

摘要

In this paper a novel approach to realize a uniaxial bidirectional vibration driven motion system with controllable direction of motion is investigated. The considered motion system bases on a tensegrity structure with multiple stable equilibrium configurations. The structure is in contact with a horizontal plane due to gravity and the actuation is realized by the harmonic change of the length of a selected member. Beside varying the actuation parameters, the direction of motion can be controlled by changing the equilibrium configuration of the tensegrity structure. In this paper the topology of the tensegrity structure and the parameter values are chosen appropriately to provide two symmetric equilibrium configurations. A change of the equilibrium state yields a novel configuration of the entire motion system which is symmetric to the original state. Utilizing the symmetry of the system the same actuation yields an opposite motion. This approach represents a reliable opportunity to control the direction of motion by changing the equilibrium state for constant actuation parameters. This paper focuses on the parameter selection and the design of the actuation of the vibration driven motion system. The working principle of the vibration driven motion system is verified by numerical simulations. This contribution represents the theoretical investigation for the further development of a prototype.