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Untethered bistable origami crawler for confined applications
Catherine Jiayi Cai1,2,3,4, Hui Huang2,5, Hongliang Ren6,7
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117575, Singapore.
Communications Engineering
|October 31, 2024
Summary
This study introduces a bistable origami crawler with untethered shape-morphing capabilities. This magnetic crawler navigates confined spaces and performs tasks like microneedle insertion, expanding origami applications.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Materials Science
- Mechanical Engineering
Background:
- Magnetically actuated origami crawlers offer robust locomotion in confined spaces.
- Current crawlers are limited to passive functionalities, restricting their application scope.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a bistable origami crawler capable of active shape-morphing for enhanced functionalities.
- To enable untethered reconfiguration between locomotion and load-bearing states using magnetic fields.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a modified bistable V-fold origami crease pattern as the crawler's fundamental unit.
- Integrated internal permanent magnets for untethered shape-morphing.
- Employed external magnetic field modulation to control crawler reconfiguration.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated bi-directional, out-of-plane crawling in confined environments via friction anisotropy.
- Successfully reconfigured the crawler from an undeployed locomotion state to a deployed load-bearing state.
- Showcased the crawler's ability to perform microneedle insertion in confined spaces.
Conclusions:
- Incorporating bistability into origami mechanisms significantly expands their capabilities for space-constrained applications.
- The proposed bistable origami crawler offers a versatile platform for locomotion and active task execution.
