Origami Robots with Flexible Printed Circuit Sheets

Abstract

Aiming at the development of functional sheets, this research proposes a new fabrication method of origami robots to create an electronic circuit which can transform into a three-dimensional (3D) shape and move by itself by combining origami geometry and a flexible printed circuit board. Inspired by the caterpillar movement, we develop a crawling robot to demonstrate this approach. The body of the robot is made of a P-Flex™ sheet and actuated by shape memory alloy (SMA). The robot uses the contraction force generated from the SMA and the elasticity of sheet itself in order to produce periodic changes in shape. Since these fold lines maintain elasticity, this robot can also be returned to a flat state for storage. Materials we use are commercially available and cheap enough to achieve mass-production. Besides, this design method provides an easy way to fabricate a variety of new functional origami robots and mechanisms by designing more complex origami patterns and built-in circuits.