3. Hardware architecture

Our aim is to draw inspiration from the morphology of the bird's neck to define a robotic prototype based on tensegrity mechanisms capable of executing movements in a plane (in this section, we draw inspiration from the woodpecker's neck, which mainly executes movements in a plane). Like vertebrae, we're going to stack a series of basic mechanisms, called "modules". Each module will be made up of tensioned bars, springs and cables. Cables and springs will play the role of muscles and tendons. If we restrict ourselves to a study in one plane, the relative movement of one vertebra with respect to the previous one is mainly a rotation. However, this rotation is achieved via several contacting surfaces at the level of the central surfaces and the zygapophyses