Origami Robot is a paper based robot. When electricity flows in the SMA, a pulling force is generated and moves the robot according to the folded angle of the paper.
Send the data to the laser cutter and adjust the settings. (Height, Volume, Power for each colored line, etc.)download : origami_cutting_pattern
Setting for Manual Control
– Black : Power 15.0%, Speed 100%, PPI 67, Z-Axis Off, Laser Both
– Red : Power 5.0%, Speed 92%, PPI 500, Z-Axis Off, Laser Both
– Green : Power 36.8%, Speed 61%, PPI 267, Z-Axis Off, Laser Both
– Yellow : Power 16.4%, Speed 100%, PPI 500, Z-Axis Off, Laser Both
– Blue : Power 8.5%, Speed 40%, PPI 500, Z-Axis Off, Laser Both
Set the paper
Set the paper and move it in the available area.
Laser cut the paper
The laser cutter will cut the paper in the proper depth based on the settings.
Fold the robot
Fold the paper along the guide lines.
Check the movement
Make the fold in the middle of the robot move softer by gently scraping it with a scissor blade.
Prepare the SMAs
Cut 2 SMAs in the length of 10mm. The SMA is usually wrapped around a cable. Gently separate the SMA form the cable by turning it gently to take out the cable. Throw the cable away, the remaining part is the SMA.
Wire the SMAs and pins
Cut 4 wires in the length of 45cm. Make one knot at each end of the wire. Gently pull the SMA to stretch out the ends of the wire. Insert the edge of a SMA to the wire’s knot. Tie the knot with SMA in between.
SMA
Done! Make 2 pieces of SMA. There is another Recipe to explain how to make SMA.
Soldering
Make a knot at the other end of each wire. Tie the wire to the pin and solder them together.
Sleeving
Cover it with the heat shrinkable sleeve.
Marking center
Mark the center of the paper with a pen. Cut shallow slits with scissors.
Attach the SMAs
Pass the SMA through the slits.
Circuit
Connect the SMAs to a circuit. Make your own designs and test various types of locomotion.
Arduino Control
You can design the movement of Origami Robot by controlling SMA with Arduino.
Paper : D. Lee, K. Saito, T. Umedachi, T. D. Ta, and Y. Kawahara, “Demo: Origami Robots with Flexible Printed Circuit Sheets,” Adjunct Proc. of ACM UbiComp 2018, pp. 392-395, Singapore, Oct. 2018.
The original McKibben type pneumatic muscle can contract like muscles. We can also make an extensible pneumatic artificial muscle with same materials. A difference is using a braided sleeve with shorten state.
Video
https://youtu.be/ZgiZtd0dn6U
Process time: 60 min
Materials
Expandable braided cable sleeving (adaptive size from 6mm – 1/4″ to 13mm – 1/2″)
MacMaster-Carr, Expandable Polyester Sleeving, 9284K2
Cut the braided sleeve in the four times the length of the desired muscle length, for example 320mm (=80m x 4).
Make the bellows
Insert a metal rod into the braided sleeve. Tie up the end of the rod and sleeve together with a cable tie. Push the sleeve along the rod and make bellows until no more shortening.
Tie up
Then tie up the other end of the sleeve.
Bake the sleeving
Bake in an oven at 120°C (248°F) for 20 minutes to fix the shorten state.
Prepare the sleeving
Put marks with tapes on the shortened sleeve with rod in the desired length, for example 80mm. Release the sleeve from the rod and cut the sleeve according to the marks.
Prepare the rubber tube
Cut the rubber tube in the same length.
Insert plug
Insert the barbed plug into the end of rubber tube.
Bundle
Insert the rubber tube into the braided sleeve.
Tie up
Tie up the end of the tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed plug. Tighten the cable tie to prevent air from leaking. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Insert connector
Insert the barbed connector into the other end of the rubber tube.
Finishing
Tie up the end of tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed connector. Tighten the tie to prevent the tubes from slipping off. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Test
Connect the air tube and syringe to inflate the rubber tube and contract the artificial muscle.
Test other muscles
Test other recipes, too.
Bon Appétit! (but don’t eat)
The original McKibben type pneumatic muscle can contract like muscles. We can also make an extensible McKibben muscle with same materials. A difference is using a braided sleeve with shorten state.
Video
Process time: 60 min
Materials
Expandable braided cable sleeving (adaptive size from 6mm – 1/4″ to 13mm – 1/2″)
MacMaster-Carr, Expandable Polyester Sleeving, 9284K2
Cut the braided sleeve in the three times the length of the desired muscle length, for example 160mm (=80m x 2). Insert a metal rod into the braided sleeve. Tie up the end of the rod and sleeve together with a cable tie. Push the sleeve along the rod until no more shortening. Then tie up the other end of the sleeve.
Bake the sleeving
Bake in an oven at 120°C (248°F) for 20 minutes to fix the shorten state.
Prepare tube and sleeving
Put marks with tapes on the shortened sleeve with rod in the desired length, for example 80mm. Release the sleeve from the rod and cut the sleeve according to the marks.
Cut the rubber tube in the same length.
Insert plug
Insert the barbed plug into the end of rubber tube.
Bundle
Insert the rubber tube into the braided sleeve. Tie up the end of the tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed plug. Tighten the cable tie to prevent air from leaking. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Insert connector
Insert the barbed connector into the other end of the rubber tube.
Finishing
Tie up the end of tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed connector. Tighten the tie to prevent the tubes from slipping off. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Test
Connect the air tube and syringe to inflate the rubber tube and contract the artificial muscle.
Bon Appétit! (but don’t eat)
Put a film on a printed pattern and trace the shape with crosses or dots with a pen.
Cut Films
Cut a pair of films bigger than the pattern.
Seal
Adjust a timer dial of a heat sealer to the lowest setting that will still seal the films (maybe around 2.5).
Place a pair of films on the sealer. Adjust the position to make sure that the crosses/dots are on the sealing line. Push the sealing arm down and keep the arm down for 3-4 seconds.
Repeat the sealing process to make a square pouch.
Cut a Pouch
Cut the margin of the films along the outline of the pouch.
Make a Hole
Make a cross/dot to mark the position of an air inlet hole with a pen. Fold the films crosswise around the mark. Cut a VERY small piece off from the corner of the films with a scissors.
Check
Unfold the films to check the hole. The diameter of the hole must be around 1-2mm. If it’s too big, cover the hole with a tape and try again on the other side.
Prepare a connector
Apply a both-sided tape on the bottom of a connector. Make a through hole with an awl.
Put the connector on the pouch
Fix the connector on the hole of the pouch.
Cover the flip side
Cover the another hole on the flip side with a tape.
Prepare paper tabs
Make two square pieces of paper boards fit to the size of pouch to make a tabs. Apply both-sided tape on the one side of the piece. Cut two corners off a square.
Put tabs
Fix two square pieces of paper board on the both side of the pouch.
Move
Connect a syringe and tube to the pouch. Push the air into the pouch to see the inflation of the pouch make a flapping motion. Try different sizes!
Put a film on a printed pattern and trace the shape with crosses or dots with a pen.
Cut Films
Cut a pair of films bigger than the pattern.
Seal
Adjust a timer dial of a heat sealer to the lowest setting that will still seal the films (maybe around 2.5).
Seal ONLY the outer lines of the pattern. Do NOT seal partition lines with a small gap. Place a pair of films on the sealer. Adjust the position to make sure that the crosses/dots are on the sealing line. Push the sealing arm down and keep the arm down for 3-4 seconds.
Repeat the sealing process to make a big square outline.
Make partition seals
You can make a gap in the middle of sealing line with a paper board tape. Put a narrow paper board on the sealer, then make a partition lines on the inside of the pouch. The gap become tunnels between subdivided pouches.
Cut a Pouch
Cut the margin of the films along the outline of the pouch.
Make a Hole
Make a cross/dot to mark the position of an air inlet hole with a pen. Fold the films crosswise around the mark. Cut a VERY small piece off from the corner of the films with a scissors.
Check
Unfold the films to check the hole. The diameter of the hole must be around 1-2mm. If it’s too big, cover the hole with a tape and try again on the other side.
Prepare a Connector
Apply a both-sided tape on the bottom of a connector. Make a through hole with an awl.
Put the connector on the pouch
Fix the connector on the hole of the pouch.
Cover the flip side
Cover the another hole on the flip side with a tape.
Move
Connect a syringe and tube to the pouch. Push the air into the pouch to see the inflation of the pouch make a flapping motion. Try different sizes/shapes!
Make a connection between two leg links with a screw and two nuts. Make sure you have little clearance between first nut and the acrylic plate. Tightening second nut on the first nut makes locking effect. It’s become a knee joint.
Muscle Preparation
Put wire on the head of nylon tie of both ends of the muscle.
Leg Assembly
Tie the muscle to the leg. One end to the knee and another end to the heel.
Integration
Put all three legs together on the body plates.
Tubing and Testing
Insert tubes into all three muscle. Supply pressured air to the muscles with syringes or air compressor. Pneumatic solenoid valves can be used to on/off control of the muscles.
Bon Appétit! (but don’t eat)
Cut the rubber tube in the desired length, for example 80mm. Cut the braided sleeve in the same length as the rubber tube.
Insert plug
Insert the barbed plug into the end of rubber tube.
Bundle
Insert the rubber tube into the braided sleeve. Tie up the end of the tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed plug. Tighten the cable tie to prevent air from leaking. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Insert connector
Insert the barbed connector into the other end of the rubber tube.
Finishing
Tie up the end of tube and sleeve together with a cable tie over the barbed connector. Tighten the tie to prevent the tubes from slipping off. Cut off the excess strap of the cable tie.
Test
Connect the air tube and syringe to inflate the rubber tube and contract the artificial muscle.
Bon Appétit! (but don’t eat)
When voltage is applied to the dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA), the electrodes coated on both sides of the soft material are stretched and deformed (the surface area of the electrode part seems to increase or decrease as it looks).
Guide paper (The diameter of the circle is 26.6mm)
Aluminium tape
Gloves
Tools and Equipments
High voltage power (~5.5kV)
Pen
Cutter
Brush
Spatula
Directions
Draw the guide line
Cut the elastomer sheet in the size of 80mm x 80mm. Place the sheet on the guide paper with the sticky side facing up. Draw the guide line on the elastomer sheet. The diameter of the circle is 26.6mm.
Stretch
Peel off the film from the elastomer sheet. Put the sheet on the acrylic frame and stretch it little by little. This process adds triaxial strain, which has the effect of thinning the film’s thickness, constraining the direction of movement, improving the withstand voltage, and controlling rigidity.
Stretch even more
Stretch the elastomer sheet until the guide line meets the acrylic frame.
Cut off
Cut the excess elastomer sheet off. The frame is done!
Stencil sheet
Place the stencil sheet on the center of the frame. The diameter of the circle is 30mm and the width of the wiring part is 5mm.
Design of the Stencil Sheet
Carbon Powder
Put a single dose of carbon powder on the elastomer sheet with a spatula. Spread it on the sheet as thin and as even as possible with a brush.
Take off
Discard the excess powder and remove the stencil sheet.
The opposite side
Place the other acrylic frame on top. Turn it over to make another electrode on the opposite side. Do the same process from “Stencil sheet”. But the electrode should be rotated 90 degrees.
Wiring
Cut the aluminum tape in the width of the electrode’s wiring part. Attach the tape to the wiring parts on each side of the elastomer sheet. Fold the excess tape.
Connect power
Connect the electrodes to a high voltage power supply. For safety, ensure that the negative electrode is on the top. (The positive electrode is dangerous!). The voltage should be around 0~5.5kV.
Basic Principles
DEA (Dielectric elastomer actuator) changes its size, shape and volume based on the electric field. DEA consists of a thin elastomeric film (this time we used an acrylic elastomer sheet), sandwiched between two compliant electrodes. When a strong current flows, the soft elastomer film stretches due to the electrodes pulling it from both sides.
The caterpillar robot is driven by two artificial muscles made of SMA (shape memory alloy). Make it together with your friends and try a caterpillar race!
Cut the rubber sheet in the size of 7cm x 2cm. Also cut 2cm of the straw and cut it vertically in half.
Fix
Cover the edge of the rubber sheet with the straw and staple it. This makes the edges slippery, which makes the caterpillar’s locomotion smoother. Cover the other edge of the rubber sheet with the straw and staple it in the same direction.
Make slits
Cut slits in 1/2~2/3 the width of the rubber sheet. Do this for both sides, making sure the slits don’t overlap. The rubber sheet’s stiffness can be tuned by changing the cutting depth and the slit’s pitch.
Attach the SMAs
Pass the SMA through the slits of the rubber sheet. The distance between the two slits should be 2 times longer than the length of the SMA. Repeat this for the opposite side.
Refer to the illustration below.
Connect the power
Briefly connect the power source to the SMA (0.5~1sec) by pressing each of the wires from one SMA to the positive red wire and the negative black wire of the battery case. The SMA will shrink when electric current is applied. Be careful not to connect it for too long or the SMA will burn out.
Control
Connect the SMA, button switches and power on the breadboard. You can control the caterpillar robot with two button switches.
Image of the circuit diagram
Circuit Diagram, Powered by Fritzing
Caterpillar race
Make the robots together with your friends, and enjoy the race!