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SUMMARY To improve the accessibility of robotics, we propose a design and fabrication strategy to build low-cost electromechanical systems for robotic devices. Our method, based on origami-inspired cut-and-fold and E-textiles techniques, aims at minimizing the resources for robot creation. Specifically, we explore techniques to create robots with the resources restricted to single-layer sheets (e.g., polyester film) and conductive sewing threads. To demonstrate our strategy’s feasibility, these techniques are successfully integrated into an electromechanical oscillator (about 0.40 USD), which can generate electrical oscillation under constant-current power and potentially be used as a simple robot controller in lieu of additional external electronics. 

Abstract We propose a computational design tool to enable casual end-users to easily design, fabricate, and assemble flat-pack furniture with guaranteed manufacturability. Using our system, users select parameterized components from a library and constrain their dimensions. Then they abstractly specify connections among components to define the furniture. Once fabrication specifications (e.g., materials) designated, the mechanical implementation of the furniture is automatically handled by leveraging encoded domain expertise. Afterwards, the system outputs three-dimensional models for visualization and mechanical drawings for fabrication. We demonstrate the validity of our approach by designing, fabricating, and assembling a variety of flat-pack (scaled) furniture on demand. 

Abstract Origami-inspired engineering has enabled intelligent materials and structures to process and react to environmental stimuli. However, it is challenging to achieve complete sense-decide-act loops in origami materials for autonomous interaction with environments, mainly due to the lack of information processing units that can interface with sensing and actuation. Here, we introduce an integrated origami-based process to create autonomous robots by embedding sensing, computing, and actuating in compliant, conductive materials. By combining flexible bistable mechanisms and conductive thermal artificial muscles, we realize origami multiplexed switches and configure them to generate digital logic gates, memory bits, and thus integrated autonomous origami robots. We demonstrate with a flytrap-inspired robot that captures ‘living prey’, an untethered crawler that avoids obstacles, and a wheeled vehicle that locomotes with reprogrammable trajectories. Our method provides routes to achieve autonomy for origami robots through tight functional integration in compliant, conductive materials.