Parallel Robots

Variable Topology Truss

Variable Topology Truss

Variable Topology Trusses (VTT) are hyper-redundant parallel robots. A VTT consists of linear actuators for the truss members, which are joined at the truss nodes by a special reconfigurable spherical joint. A VTT can significantly change its shape and size, reconfigure by merging and splitting these truss nodes, and execute rolling locomotion. The core component is the novel linear actuator called Spiral Zipper. The VTT robotic system was developed by Dr. Alexander Spinos, Dr. Devin Carroll, Dr. Andrew Bae, and Dr. Chao Liu at the University of Pennsylvania supervised by Dr. Mark Yim.

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