# Inclined Surface Locomotion Strategies for Spherical Tensegrity Robots

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1708.08150 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.08150/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 27 Aug 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [Don't Just Search, Understand: Semantic Path Planning Agent for Spherical Tensegrity Robots in Unknown Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.01236/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This paper presents a new teleoperated spherical tensegrity robot capable of performing locomotion on steep inclined surfaces. With a novel control scheme centered around the simultaneous actuation of multiple cables, the robot demonstrates robust climbing on inclined surfaces in hardware experiments and speeds significantly faster than previous spherical tensegrity models. This robot is an improvement over other iterations in the TT-series and the first tensegrity to achieve reliable locomotion on inclined surfaces of up to 24degree. We analyze locomotion in simulation and hardware under single and multi-cable actuation, and introduce two novel multi-cable actuation policies, suited for steep incline climbing and speed, respectively. We propose compelling justifications for the increased dynamic ability of the robot and motivate development of optimization algorithms able to take advantage of the robot's increased control authority.