Reconfigurable origami with variable stiffness joints for adaptive robotic locomotion and grasping

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Origami principles offer compact and foldable designs for robotic systems.
• Controlling origami structures' stiffness is key to achieving versatile motions and shapes.
• Existing methods for stiffness control in origami are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate on-the-fly stiffness tuning of origami creases for programmable mechanical properties.
• To demonstrate a novel composite material for actively controlled origami hinges.
• To showcase the application of variable stiffness origami in locomotion and grasping.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of an origami module with four variable stiffness joints (VSJs) using a composite of thermoplastic and shape memory polymer layers.
• Active stiffness control of VSJs via Joule heating.
• Characterization of origami module motion and robotic applications through controlled heating experiments.

Main Results:

• The composite material effectively functions as a living hinge with actively controlled stiffness.
• The origami module demonstrated versatile motions and shapes by varying VSJ stiffness and temperature.
• A two-legged robot constructed from two origami modules exhibited programmable locomotion gaits and adaptive grasping.

Conclusions:

• This work presents a novel method for creating origami structures with programmable stiffness and versatile functionalities.
• The developed technology has the potential to enable advanced robotic systems and programmable mechanical metamaterials.
• The findings contribute to the field of origami/kirigami-inspired structures for diverse applications.