Min Lin’s research while affiliated with Xidian University and other places

Tensegrity systems have been used in several disciplines such as architecture, robots and antennas. However, just a few works in literature have addressed the possibility of using tensegrity systems in sensor applications. In this paper, a tensegrity based weighing machine was proposed. An energy method was used to perform the equilibrium analysis of the machine. Then, the response of a vertical load and a torque was detailed on the basis of an energy formulation. Afterwards, the concepts of mass sensitivity and torque sensitivity were proposed to evaluate the testing performance of the tensegrity based weighing machine. The results indicate that the machine has high mass sensitivity when the height of the top platform is small and the relationship between the vertical loads and the height of the top platform is linear. Moreover, the torque sensitivity is symmetric with respect to the height of the top platform and the relationship between the torque and the rotation angle of the top platform is nonlinear. This work can be offered as a benchmark when such machine is put to use.

A tensegrity-based water wave energy harvester is proposed. The direct and inverse kinematic problems are investigated by using a geometric method. Afterwards, the singularities and workspaces are discussed. Then, the Lagrangian method was used to develop the dynamic model considering the interaction between the harvester and water waves. The results indicate that the proposed harvester allows harvesting 13.59% more energy than a conventional heaving system. Therefore, tensegrity systems can be viewed as one alternative solution to conventional water wave energy harvesting systems.

Tensegrity mechanisms have several attractive characteristics such as light-weight, deployable and easily modeled. In this paper, the stiffness and dynamics of a planar class-2 tensegrity mechanism are studied. Firstly, the solutions to the kinematic problems are found by using a method of reduced coordinates. Then, the stiffness of the mechanism is investigated on the basis of a stiffness matrix. The mechanism’s stiffnesses along directions defined nodal coordinates are computed. Finally, a dynamic model is derived and the motions of the mechanism are simulated.

Compared with conventional mechanisms, tensegrity mechanisms have many attractive characteristics such as light weight, high ratio of strength to weight, and accuracy of modeling. In this paper, the kinematics, singularity, and workspaces of a planar 4-bar tensegrity mechanism have been investigated. Firstly, the analytical solutions to the forward and inverse kinematic problems are found by using an energy based method. Secondly, the definition of a tensegrity mechanism's Jacobian is introduced. As a consequence, the singularity analysis of the planar 4-bar tensegrity mechanism has been completed. Thirdly, the actuator and output workspaces are mapped. Finally, some attractive characteristics of the mechanism are concluded.

In this work, the kinematics and stiffness of a planar tensegrity parallel mechanism are investigated. The analytical solutions to the forward and reverse kinematics were found using an energy method. The singular configurations and workspaces were detailed. Afterwards, the stiffness of the mechanism was analyzed. It is demonstrated that the stiffness is at a local maximum when the mechanism is in stable equilibrium and at a local minimum when the mechanism is in unstable equilibrium. The stiffness distributions are approximately symmetric about a certain line inside the actuator and Cartesian workspaces. Large values of the actuator length should be selected for high stiffness applications. The singular configurations, workspaces and stiffness variations inside the actuator and Cartesian workspaces lay a foundation for the use of the mechanism.