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Shape-morphing capabilities are crucial for enabling multifunctionality in both biological and artificial systems. Various strategies for shape morphing have been proposed for applications in metamaterials and robotics. However, few of…
One-dimensional slender bodies can be deformed or shaped into spatially complex curves relatively easily due to their inherent compliance. However, traditional methods of fabricating complex spatial shapes are cumbersome, prone to error…
Origami offers a versatile framework for designing morphable structures and soft robots by exploiting the geometry of folds. Tubular origami structures can act as continuum manipulators that balance flexibility and strength. However,…
Robotic grasping and manipulation in underwater environments present unique challenges for robotic hands traditionally used on land. These challenges stem from dynamic water conditions, a wide range of object properties from soft to stiff,…
Creating complex spatial objects from a flat sheet of material using origami folding techniques has attracted attention in science and engineering. In the present work, we employ geometric properties of partially folded zigzag strips to…
The nonlinear mechanical response of soft materials and slender structures is purposefully harnessed to program functions by design in soft robotic actuators, such as sequencing, amplified response, fast energy release, etc. However,…
A mobility mechanism for robots to be used in tight spaces shared with people requires it to have a small footprint, to move omnidirectionally, as well as to be highly maneuverable. However, currently there exist few such mobility…
Manipulation of thin sheets by folding and cutting offers opportunity to engineer structures with novel mechanical properties, and to prescribe complex force-displacement relationships via material elasticity in combination with the…
Shape-morphing finds widespread utility, from the deployment of small stents and large solar sails to actuation and propulsion in soft robotics. Origami structures provide a template for shape-morphing, but rules for designing and folding…
Origami inspired architectures offer a powerful route toward lightweight, reconfigurable, and programmable robotic systems. Yet, a unified mechanics framework capable of seamlessly bridging rigid folding, elastic deformation, and stability…
A novel design of an elastic metamaterial with anisotropic mass density is proposed to manipulate flexural waves at a subwavelength scale. The three-dimensional metamaterial is inspired by kirigami, which can be easily manufactured by…
Despite advances in localization and navigation, aerial robots inevitably remain susceptible to accidents and collisions. In this work, we propose a passive foldable airframe as a protective mechanism for a small aerial robot. A foldable…
Origami structures enabled by folding and unfolding can create complex 3D shapes. However, even a small 3D shape can have large 2D unfoldings. The huge initial dimension of the 2D flattened structure makes fabrication difficult, and defeats…
Origami and kirigami have emerged as potential tools for the design of mechanical metamaterials whose properties such as curvature, Poisson ratio, and existence of metastable states can be tuned using purely geometric criteria. A major…
Flexible surfaces can modulate fluid forces through deformation, enabling passive adaptation to flow conditions. Here we show that kirigami sheets, planar surfaces patterned with arrays of parallel slits, provide a simple route to tunable…
Soft robotics gripper have shown great promise in handling fragile and geometrically complex objects. However, most existing solutions rely on bulky actuators, complex control strategies, or advanced tactile sensing to achieve stable and…
Soft compliant microrobots have the potential to deliver significant societal impact when deployed in applications such as search and rescue. In this research we present mCLARI, a body compliant quadrupedal microrobot of 20mm neutral body…
Many organisms leverage an interplay between shape and activity to generate motion and adapt to their environment. Embedding such feedback into synthetic microrobots could eliminate the need for sensors, software, and actuators, yet current…
Adaptation to various scene configurations and object properties, stability and dexterity in robotic grasping manipulation is far from explored. This work presents an origami-based shape morphing fingertip design to actively tackle the…
Origami designs offer extreme reconfigurability due to hinge rotation and facet deformation. This can be exploited to make lightweight metamaterials with controlled deployability and tunable properties. Here, we create a family of…