Meet Tribot: robotic origami that jumps and crawls

Introducing: Tribot, the robotic origami that is 2cm tall, weighs just 4 grams, folds up, and is capable of crawling and jumping.

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have thrown convention out the window by creating this robot that resembles origami: flat, ultra-light and foldable.

Unveiled at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), Tribot’s pattern is modeled after inchworms, but what makes it most unique is its ability to simultaneously switch between crawling and jumping. Yes, it can jump over obstacles and then continue moving forward.

Tribot can do all of this with its T-shaped structure and three legs. “This unusual robot can jump up to seven times its height, and it does not need to be reset between jumps,” said Jamie Paik from the Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory.

In order for Tribot to fully function, several technical challenges had to be overcome. The researchers could not use conventional motors, as they are too bulky and heavy. All of the robot’s movement comes from a special kind of actuator and intelligent springs, which are made from shape memory alloy (SMA). Tribot’s SMA, which in this case is Titanium and Nickel, is capable of remembering its initial shape, even after it has been deformed.

After deformation, it’s possible for the robot to return to its basic shape by heating it at a certain temperature, which the researchers used to generate movement. The actuators made of shape memory alloys were built to allow motion in any direction, which in short is induced by thermally activating different parts of the robot.

“We gave the robot numerous actuators, each of which is insulated from the others,” said Zhenishbek Zhakypov, who co-authored the paper on Tribot. “By activating the actuators successively, the robot begins to crawl. The jumping mode depends on springs that are also made out of SMA.”

Tribot’s origami-like structure can easily be replicated on a large scale, by producing several two-dimensional layers assembled together to create the three-legged robot.

“Just like Ikea furniture, these robots could be shipped in flat layers that could then be easily assembled,” said Paik.

The researchers are currently working on giving the robogamis additional sensors, such as accelerometers and micro cameras, so they can interact with one another in the future. Stay tuned.

Via Phys.org