Some origami tessellations such as the ‘snake skin’ tessellation exhibit an interesting property of directional stiffness. This means that as force is applied to the tessellation in one direction it easily flexes but when force is applied in the opposite direction the structure reaches a point at which it becomes rigid or stiff. This property could be used to allow for a work loop in a gait by only moving a limb forwards and backwards and allowing the directional stiffness to create the force difference needed for motion.
We believe that this question is tractable as the principle of using directional stiffness for locomotion can be seen elsewhere in nature and robotics, but has not yet been studied in laminate robot structures. We will be focusing on terrestrial leg based locomotion for this project. We are constraining the scope of our project to focus on the use origami techniques to build our robot. We have also constrained the cost of the device to be less than $100.
We established novelty by performing keyword searches for research papers on similar topics. We used keywords such as snake skin (a common name for the tessellation we are considering), Origami, laminate robot, directional stiffness, robogami, variable stiffness, 3D Printing, and terrestrial locomotion. We found that while some papers explored laminate robots and others explored variable stiffness in flapping systems no single paper combined the concepts together into a single mechanism. Most papers using directional stiffness properties in limbs also focused on air or water based locomotion instead of terrestrial locomotion.
Keywords: Snake skin(a common name for the tessellation), Origami, laminate robot, directional stiffness
It creates an opportunity for other researchers to collaborate. Recent developments in fabrication techniques allow for the design and construction of foldable robots to be accessible to more people. This may also lead to more robust robot locomotion. This increasing accessibility is a driving factor in the novelty and impact potential of our project. Our results could be used to help others design more capable robots, for instance our research could be combined with the aquatic research to produce amphibious robots or this locomotion technique could have unique advantages over existing methods. This research could have broader impacts as a greater understanding of directionally stiff origami inspired structures could allow for them to be used for more applications, for instance biomedical devices or architecture.
We believe that our research question is open ended since it does not focus on a specific solution. There are also many possible ways for the directional stiffness to be produced in a laminate structure and further research could be done into different fold patterns and the differences between them. It gives room for other modifications and improvements. We structured our research question to avoid focusing on a specific design or robot and instead focused it on exploring how the concept of directional stiffness can affect the design of laminate robots which allows for deeper investigation.
Yes. The research topic or the product on which we are researching is modular as it can be readily used by others. There can be multiple ways in which we can use the product just by changing the material or adding some extra module to it for a different application. For instance the locomoting robot we produce could be used as the drive train for a more complex robot system or sensor package.
Our main area of interest is to understand the mechanism of origami techniques and apply it to improve robot design.We have knowledge of basic origami mechanisms which we can apply with the knowledge of kinematics, dynamics , mechatronics and programming skills.We use critical thinking and problem solving abilities to achieve results for this research project.
This question uses foldable robotics to capture the interesting properties of an origami fold and use it to answer the question of how to produce complex motion from a simple actuator input. The use of foldable robotics is especially suited to this task.
M. Sharifzadeh and D. M. Aukes, “Curvature-Induced Buckling for Flapping-Wing Vehicles,” in IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 503-514, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.1109/TMECH.2020.3034659.
This paper explores the use of the directional buckling of a curved surface to allow symmetric flapping motor input to generate net forward thrust in a flapping robot. This paper studies how a curved beam can be designed with FEA to allow for a complex flapping gait with simple motor inputs. This paper found that this approach to flapping robot design was effective in producing aquatic robot motion. Our research question is distinct from the one set out in this paper as it seeks to optimize the design based on a different construction technique (laminate), a different method of producing anisotropic robot elements (foldable kinematics), and a different environment (terrestrial).
Hu, Fuwen & Wang, Wei & Cheng, Jingli & Bao, Yunchang. (2020). Origami spring-inspired metamaterials and robots: An attempt at fully programmable robotics. Science Progress. 103. 1-19. 10.1177/0036850420946162.
This paper proposed an illustrative method for transforming an origami model into a fully programmable robotic system. Further in paper they introduced an origami spring model and its shape-shifting geometry and intrinsic metamaterial mechanisms, they found the rarely switchable behavior from transverse compression to longitudinal stretchability, and the curvilinear deployment. They proposed 3D printable origami sheets fabrication to achieve foldability with high elasticity, and good damage tolerance and they developed a fully soft manipulator in terms of the highly reversible compressibility of origami spring metamaterials.
A. Firouzeh, M. Salerno and J. Paik, “Stiffness Control With Shape Memory Polymer in Underactuated Robotic Origamis,” in IEEE Transactions on Robotics, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 765-777, Aug. 2017, doi: 10.1109/TRO.2017.2692266.
This paper presents a small origami based design that regulates the stable configurations and overall stiffness of an underactuated robot by modulating the material stiffness of the joints. It talks about employing several functional layers in two dimensional robots. The paper proposes an approach to manage the structure’s stiffness by altering the elastic modulus of a shape memory polymer using an embedded stretchable heater. Apart from this, it discusses the actuation of a three jointed robogami finger and discovers its stable configurations.
An origami-inspired structure with graded stiffness - Jiayao Ma, Jichao Song, Yan Chen - International Journal of Mechanical Sciences Volume 136, February 2018, Pages 134-142
This paper provides a study about an origami structure based on the Miura-ori folding pattern that has variable geometry and graded stiffness over its volume. The paper also provides information regarding how geometric factors of the folding pattern may be adjusted to achieve both rigid foldable and self-locking stages using kinematic analysis. It also states that the mechanical responses can be modified by changing the underlying geometric design.