Origami spring-inspired shape morphing for flexible robotics
This work addresses shape morphing for flexible robotics, offering incremental improvements through novel origami spring designs and rigidization methods.
The paper tackled the problem of shape morphing in flexible robotics by constructing and studying origami springs, which exhibited nonlinear stretch-twist coupling and improved mechanical performance through an origami rigidization method, leading to the experimental realization of three types of robots (ejectors, crawlers, transformers) with desired functionality and outstanding performance.
Flexible robotics are capable of achieving various functionalities by shape morphing, benefiting from their compliant bodies and reconfigurable structures. Here we construct and study a class of origami springs generalized from the known interleaved origami spring, as promising candidates for shape morphing in flexible robotics. These springs are found to exhibit nonlinear stretch-twist coupling and linear/nonlinear mechanical response in the compression/tension region, analyzed by the demonstrated continuum mechanics models, experiments, and finite element simulations. To improve the mechanical performance such as the damage resistance, we establish an origami rigidization method by adding additional creases to the spring system. Guided by the theoretical framework, we experimentally realize three types of flexible robotics -- origami spring ejectors, crawlers, and transformers. These robots show the desired functionality and outstanding mechanical performance. The proposed concept of origami-aided design is expected to pave the way to facilitate the diverse shape morphing of flexible robotics.