Designing and Implementing an Origami-Based Steering Mechanism for Controlling the Swimming Direction of a Laminated Compliant Origami Robot
Open Access
Author:
Barber, Kaylie
Area of Honors:
Mechanical Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Jared Butler, Thesis Supervisor Margaret Louise Byron, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Origami Compliant mechanism Robot Swimming Control
Abstract:
This research presents a swimming robot that uses an origami-based design to achieve forward propulsion along straight and curved paths. To have both compliance for origami folds and rigidity for overall structure, a lamination procedure is used to combine rigid acrylic with flexible PET into one cohesive part. Comparing robots with and without the inclusion of a turning mechanism, this research considers the tradeoffs between having fast forward propulsion with having increased dexterity through the ability to turn. On a straight path, the robot achieves an average forward propulsion velocity of 4.7 cm/s without the turning mechanism and 4.6 cm/s with the turning mechanism present but deactivated. When the turning mechanism is activated so that the robot follows a curved path, the robot propels forwards at 1.4 cm/s relative to the front of the robot and turns at an average rate of 8.5 °/s. Having greater dexterity and faster propulsion in a laminated robot will help to allow for search-and-rescue robot applications. Such applications require adept control for navigation. Implementing this control within laminated robots allows for fast manufacturing while maintaining the necessary control needed for such applications.
