Tensegrity Robotics: Toward Field-capable, Intelligent Systems
IROS 2026 - Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Organizers:
- Will Johnson (Yale University)
- John Rieffel (Union College)
- Xiaonan (Sean) Huang (University of Michigan)
- Kostas Bekris (Rutgers University)
- Valter Böehm (OTH Regensburg)
- Muhao Chen (University of Houston)
- Lauren Ervin (Florida International University)
- Rebecca Kramer-Bottiglio (Yale University)
- Vishesh Vikas (University of Alabama)
This will be the sixth in a series of Tensegrity Robotics workshops we’ve been organizing since 2018. Please address correspondence to Will Johnson at wjohnso3@swarthmore.edu.
Abstract
Composed of rigid struts and compliant tendons, tensegrity robots boast a remarkable strength-to-weight ratio and demonstrate extraordinary shape morphability, stiffness tuning, and impact resistance. These favorable properties make tensegrity robots an attractive technology for the next generation of adaptive robots. However, tensegrity robots’ compliance, coupled dynamics, and many degrees of freedom pose challenges in modeling, sensing, and control. Demonstrations of tensegrity robots are typically confined to a controlled laboratory setting despite claims of tensegrity robots’ favorability for remote and unstructured environments. To solve this grand challenge, this workshop aims to rally the tensegrity robotics community to build field-capable, intelligent systems. This workshop draws participation from tensegrity roboticists in industry as well as researchers and experts in complementary fields, including field robotics, robot learning, soft robot modeling and control, and bio-inspired robotics. The workshop will give participants an opportunity to present and discuss the current state of the art in tensegrity robotics through invited talks, live robot demonstrations, an interactive panel discussion, and a student-focused poster session. The organizers will disseminate the results of the workshop discussions in a prospective article and summarize them on the tensegrity robotics website. This workshop will attract and engage new participants in the field, encourage interactions between junior and senior researchers, and facilitate future collaborations.
Schedule
(all times in EDT)
- 08:30 - 08:40 Opening Remarks
- 08:40 - Invited Talks
- 08:40 - Shuhei Ikemoto Design and Data-Driven Control of Redundant Tensegrity Manipulators
- 09:00 - Robert Baines Leaps and Bounds: Design and Control of Jumping Tensegrity Robots
- 09:20 - Luyang Zhao Toward Task-Adaptive Soft Modular Tensegrity Robots
- 09:40 - Hiroyuki Nabae TBD
- 10:00 - Cole Woods The Second Spine: From Research to Reality in Tensegrity Commercialization
- 10:20 - Student Spotlight Talks
- 10:30 - Morning Coffee Break
- 11:00 - Live Demo Session
- 11:30 - Xuesu Xiao Learning Extreme Off-Road Mobility
- 11:50 - Panel Discussion
- 12:20 - Closing Remarks
- 12:30 - End
Contribute
Coming soon: we will solicit contributions for posters and live demonstrations at the workshop. We are looking for work in tensegrity robotics as well as complementary fields such as field robotics, robot learning, soft robot modeling and control, and bio-inspired robotics.
Inclusiveness
We want to specifically encourage participation from students, young researchers, underrepresented groups, new conference attendees, and those who have not participated in a workshop before. Once the solicitation opens, please submit your research so that it can enrich our workshop. The poster session is meant to highlight the work of students and young researchers. You are welcome as a contributor and/or as an attendee.
Prior Workshops
An archive of the workshop series we’ve been running since 2018.