The classic Geodesic Dome can be constructed using tensegrity-based techniques.
The geodesic dome as elaborated, patented and fine-tuned by both Fuller and followers of Fuller's techniques is based on the icosahedron. The icosahedron's faces are subdivided--the more subdivisions, the more gently the dome can curve. Fuller called such triangulation "frequency" and his terminology is adopted by the Fuller-inspired dome building community. A 2-frequency dome, in classic geometry, would be called a truncated icosahedron or a icosa-dodecahedron.
When elaborating a dome as a tensegrity, the usual difficulties of mapping tensegrities to related polyhedral forms set in.
deJong rendered a 6-frequency tensegrity dome impacting on a surface. You can see the squishiness.
This page was last edited on 24 November 2018, at 13:41.