Tensegrity Applications to Architecture, Engineering and Robotics: A Review

Abstract

Tensegrity structures are prestressed and self-stable pin-connected frameworks built up mainly from two kind of elements, in compression (bars) and in tension (tendons). It has been 75 years since the first official appearance of tensegrity, although the present paper includes proof that states that they are in fact more than 100 years old. Throughout these years, tensegrity structures have been capturing engineers’, architects’ and artists’ attention with their peculiar properties. In the last decade, new applications have been found based on tensegrity, although there are not any compilations about them. This paper aims to fill this gap by giving an overview of all the recent real applications that tensegrity has had during its short life, at the same time exposing its potential in all the fields it has contributed to (AEC, robotics, space, etc.) The methodology for performing this review has been revisiting the most relevant publications in several scientific databases. This has led to a new discovery: the first cable-dome by Snelson. As a conclusion, tensegrity has been providing useful solutions to previous problems since they have appeared, but their potential can still grow in an exponential way due to the new technologies and discoveries of the last decade.