OriSnake: Design, Fabrication, and Experimental Analysis of a 3-D Origami Snake Robot

Abstract

Snake robots offer a useful and unique mobility platform for search-and-rescue applications. However, existing prototypes made of rigid links and joints are hampered by a lack of flexibility that limits their utility in highly cluttered, maze-like environments, and their heavy weight limits their energy-efficiency and performance in three-dimensional (3-D) tasks. To address these challenges, this letter presents a new approach using cylindrical, origami continuum modules driven by internal cables and electric motors, as well as a local feedback control system on each module. Thus, we can distribute actuation, sensing, and control for highly scalable soft robotic continuum origami systems. Using this approach, we develop a 3-D origami robotic snake that is able to locomote using lateral undulation and sidewinding gaits similar to those used by biological snakes. The proposed snake robot is a continuously deformable, lightweight, modular, and low cost robotic system made of a folded thin plastic body. We detail the design, fabrication, and control of this first 3-D origami robotic snake prototype, focusing on the analysis of locomotion parameters for each gait. We experimentally search for the optimal parameters for both types of locomotion, with maximum speeds characterized as 40.5 mm/s (0.1 body-lengths per second) for lateral undulation and 35 mm/s (0.09 body-lengths per second) for sidewinding locomotion.