title: Applied origami. A method for building self-folding machines.
abstract: Origami can turn a sheet of paper into complex three-dimensional shapes, and similar folding techniques can produce structures and mechanisms. To demonstrate the application of these techniques to the fabrication of machines, we developed a crawling robot that folds itself. The robot starts as a flat sheet with embedded electronics, and transforms autonomously into a functional machine. To accomplish this, we developed shape-memory composites that fold themselves along embedded hinges. We used these composites to recreate fundamental folded patterns, derived from computational origami, that can be extrapolated to a wide range of geometries and mechanisms. This origami-inspired robot can fold itself in 4 minutes and walk away without human intervention, demonstrating the potential both for complex self-folding machines and autonomous, self-controlled assembly.
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. sam@seas.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Felton
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolley
authors.affiliation: Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demaine
authors.affiliation: Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rus
authors.affiliation: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wood