Tensegrity Robot: A new PCB design

Tensegrity robots are lightweight, flexible structures built from rigid struts and tensioned cables that move through vibration rather than wheels or legs, making them uniquely adaptable to unstructured environments. Building on previous tensegrity robot platforms developed at Union College, this work presents a redesigned printed circuit board for the tensegrity strut, aimed at improving electrical reliability, component integration, and overall controllability. The new PCB consolidates power regulation, motor actuation, and wireless microcontroller functionality into a more compact and robust layout, addressing limitations found in previous strut implementations. A dual-voltage architecture ensures stable operation across components with differing power requirements, while pulse-width modulation enables precise motor control for vibration-based locomotion. The redesign also improves the modularity of each strut, making the system easier to assemble, test, and iterate upon. This work contributes a more dependable hardware foundation for tensegrity robotics research, supporting future efforts in motion analysis, closed-loop control, and evolutionary locomotion strategies.