Tom built this model of a tensegrity man circa 2005. The model could be improved by using Tom’s more recent designs for spinal coupling, pelvic joint, knee joint, and foot articulation.
Context: Tom Flemons Archive
This is an older design; the pelvis is not a true linkage
(Oct 9, 2015) I’m looking into the specific details of how to hook up tensegrities to form useful linkages that can then be animated using the genetic algorithms you mention. To this end I would caution using my model of a tensegrity man. First of all it is 10 years out of date in my thinking. Second the pelvis is not a true linkage – it only moves because it has elastic tensioners. To give it range of motion I had to sacrifice stability – it has none (or very little). Third I have better models for all the parts and you have seen some of them in my videos. What is needed is the understanding of the various forms and how they are connected. A spinal coupler, a pelvic joint, a knee joint and a foot articulation are the basic components needed to build a quadruped (which will be in some significant ways easier to build than a biped). The hardest one to link up is between the leg and the pelvis but I’m working on it…
A two minute demonstration of Albert starts at 24:25 in this video.
Youtube video: Tom Flemons in conversation with Steve Levin. ©2005 Steve Levin