Inflatable structures have become essential components in the design of soft robots and deployable systems as they enable dramatic shape change from a single pressure inlet. This simplicity, however, often brings a strict limitation: unimodal deformation upon inflation. Here, multistability is embraced to design modular, inflatable structures that can switch between distinct deformation modes as a response to a single input signal. This system comprises bistable origami modules in which pressure is used to trigger a snap‐through transition between a state of deformation characterized by simple deployment to a state characterized by bending deformation. By assembling different modules and tuning their geometry to cause snapping at different pressure thresholds, structures capable of complex deformations that can be pre‐programmed and activated using only one pressure source are created. This approach puts forward multistability as a paradigm to eliminate a one‐to‐one relation between input signal and deformation mode in inflatable systems.
Kinematic Modeling of Origami-based Forcep Design
In the design of practical grasping tools such as forceps or
grippers, it may be desirable to create a compact, lightweight,
and easily manufactured tool. Origami inspired designs can help
simplify gripper manufacturing to a single planar sheet of material
while still allowing for deployment and actuation. Inflatable
structures can reduce weight and be compacted. This paper explores
the design of an inflatable, deployable, action origami inspired
gripper through the development of a predictive model,
prototype fabrication, and preliminary design assessments.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1636017
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10110831
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the ASME 2019 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences & Computers and Information in Engineering Conference
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Origami, the ancient art of paper folding, has shown its potential as a versatile platform to design various reconfigurable structures. The designs of most origami-inspired architected materials rely on a periodic arrangement of identical unit cells repeated throughout the whole system. It is challenging to alter the arrangement once the design is fixed, which may limit the reconfigurable nature of origami-based structures. Inspired by phase transformations in natural materials, here we study origami tessellations that can transform between homogeneous configurations and highly heterogeneous configurations composed of different phases of origami unit cells. We find that extremely localized and reprogrammable heterogeneity can be achieved in our origami tessellation, which enables the control of mechanical stiffness and in-situ tunable locking behavior. To analyze this high reconfigurability and variable stiffness systematically, we employ Shannon information entropy. Our design and analysis strategy can pave the way for designing new types of transformable mechanical devices.
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