Kinematics and control approach for deployable and reconfigurable rigid bar linkage structures

Abstract Deployable building structures able to respond to varying environmental and functional conditions through shape transformations aim at an interactive and optimized behaviour towards sustainability of our built environment. A kinematics approach applied to a lightweight linkage structure is presented that builds upon aspects of flexibility and controllability through modularity and simple actuation requirements. The principal planar structure consists of serially connected rigid members. One side of the linkage is pinned to the ground and the other side is pinned to a sliding block. A single linear motion actuator detached from the structural body, acts on the sliding block, while all intermediate joints are equipped with brakes. The reconfiguration approach involves the stepwise selective locking of joints, to define a generic one degree-of-freedom (1-DOF) ‘effective crank–slider’ (ECS) mechanism. The approach is examined through simulation studies followed by hardware implementation on a small scale 1:10 prototype.