Modular multi-degree-of-freedom soft origami robots with reprogrammable electrothermal actuation.

ABSTRACT: Soft robots often draw inspiration from nature to navigate different environments. Although the inching motion and crawling motion of caterpillars have been widely studied in the design of soft robots, the steering motion with local bending control remains challenging. To address this challenge, we explore modular origami units which constitute building blocks for mimicking the segmented caterpillar body. Based on this concept, we report a modular soft Kresling origami crawling robot enabled by electrothermal actuation. A compact and lightweight Kresling structure is designed, fabricated, and characterized with integrated thermal bimorph actuators consisting of liquid crystal elastomer and polyimide layers. With the modular design and reprogrammable actuation, a multiunit caterpillar-inspi

SUBMITTER: Wu S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11098090 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature