Jumping locomotion system based on a multistable tensegrity structure

•No comparable systems are known to the authors.•Numerical simulation of the jumping locomotion are evaluated.•Experimental investigation with a real prototype are evaluated.•Working principle of the locomotion system is confirmed. All known locomotion principles are limited respective to environmental conditions. Often, the occurrence of obstacles or gaps means the break-off for the operating motion systems. For such circumstances, a controllable jumping locomotion is required to cross these barriers. However, this locomotion demands sophisticated requirements to the actuation. The abrupt actuation is commonly realized by high dynamic actuators or complex mechanisms. In this work, a simple solution utilizing the multistability of a compliant tensegrity structure is described. Therefore, a two-dimensional tensegrity structure featuring four stable equilibria is considered. Based on bifurcation analyses a feasible actuation to control the current equilibrium configuration is derived. Changing between selected equilibrium states enables a great difference in potential energy, which yields a jumping motion of the structure. Based on numerical simulations a suitable actuation strategy is chosen to overcome obstacle and steps by jumping forward or backward, respectively. The theoretical approach is examined experimentally with a prototype of the multistable tensegrity structure.