Deformable wheel robot based on origami structure

Abstract

Origami is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding. Due to its fascinating properties, several attempts are being actively made to expand applications of origami-inspired designs in engineering. This paper presents the design of a deformable wheel based on an origami structure that was integrated with a small-scale mobile robot. The wheel of the robot employs an origami structure proposed by Guest et al. All segments of the structure are connected by links-i.e., folding lines-and this linked structure provides advantages in terms of maintaining geometry and force transmissibility. These two advantages enable control of the shape or size of the wheel by activating a certain portion of the structure. With this property, the wheel diameter of the robot is reduced from 11 cm to 4 cm by four SMA coil spring actuators. Two plate springs are embedded in the wheel to maintain stiffness and allow the wheel to recover from contraction. With the deformable wheel, the robot can pass through a 5 cm gap despite having an 11 cm wheel in its normal state. This deformable wheel concept can be used to build mobile robots that can move quickly with large wheels and move through small gaps when required.