Investigating Tensegrity 1: The Basics

To get the most out of my tensegrity design, I had to educate myself on the principles behind the method. I decided the best way to do this way to create some tensegrity models myself. The first tensegrity model I have created is a triangular prism with three compression components (wooden coffee mixing sticks) and nine tension components (string).

This structure however cannot stand on its own. This is because all tensegrity structures at their most basic have a torsion component acting either clockwise or anti-clock wise (or left and right helix structure). Without this torsion force held in check the structure collapses. In this case I locked three points of the structure into fixed positions. Once this is done it can support weight and can act as a floor or platform.