Foldable Robotics Background

Laminate Fabrication Techniques

Foldable, laminate, and origami-inspired robots have origins in early MEMS work using planar processes to make three-dimensional mechansims in silicon ( Citation: Pister, Judy & al., 1992 Pister, K., Judy, M., Burgett, S. & Fearing, R. (1992). Microfabricated hinges. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 33(3). 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/0924-4247(92)80172-Y ) , where $\mu m$-scale hinges were fabricated in silicon to create articulated assemblies which folded out of a 2D plane. These devices were fabricated using layered MEMS techniques. Follow on work by this group combined actuation with mechansims to create motion ( Citation: Yeh, Kruglick & al., 1995 Yeh, R., Kruglick, E. & Pister, K. (1995). Microelectromechanical Components For Articulated Microrobots. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SENSOR.1995.721817 ) . Magnets were also used to actuate and erect pop-up structures ( Citation: Yi & Liu, 1999 Yi, Y. & Liu, C. (1999). Magnetic actuation of hinged microstructures. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 8(1). 10–17. https://doi.org/10.1109/84.749397 ) . This work was later echoed and expanded in ( Citation: Vaccaro, Kubota & al., 2003 Vaccaro, P., Kubota, K., Fleischmann, T., Saravanan, S. & Aida, T. (2003). Valley-fold and mountain-fold in the micro-origami technique. Microelectronics Journal, 34(5-8). 447–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0026-2692(03)00070-3 ) ( Citation: Stellman, Arora & al., 2005 Stellman, P., Arora, W., Takahashi, S., Demaine, E. & Barbastathis, G. (2005). Kinematics and Dynamics of Nanostructured Origami™. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/IMECE2005-81824 ) . At the heart of the technologies that make these robots feasible is the concept of being able to create complex, nonlinear motion through the synthesis of common mechanical elements such as joints, springs, dampers, actuators, and sensors. Unlike common mechanical elements found in more traditional robotic systems, however, these components are fabricated with a collection of planar fabrication techniques in which a palette of compatible materials are iteratively added and removed to create a monolithic, multi-material, electro-mechanical system. These concepts have been demonstrated at nano, micro, milli, and centi-meter scales, in materials as disparate as silicon ( Citation: Pister, Judy & al., 1992 Pister, K., Judy, M., Burgett, S. & Fearing, R. (1992). Microfabricated hinges. Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 33(3). 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/0924-4247(92)80172-Y ) , carbon fiber ( Citation: Wood, Avadhanula & al., 2003 Wood, R., Avadhanula, S., Menon, M. & Fearing, R. (2003). Microrobotics using composite materials: the micromechanical flying insect thorax. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2003.1241863 ) , titanium ( Citation: Sreetharan, Whitney & al., 2012 Sreetharan, P., Whitney, J., Strauss, M. & Wood, R. (2012). Monolithic fabrication of millimeter-scale machines. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 22(5). 55027. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/22/5/055027 ) , plastic, and cardboard ( Citation: Birkmeyer, Peterson & al., 2009 Birkmeyer, P., Peterson, K. & Fearing, R. (2009). DASH: A dynamic 16g hexapedal robot. 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 2683–2689. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2009.5354561 ) . These technologies make it possible to solve novel problems, either at size scales where traditional mechanical devices such as gears, bearings, and motors are unavailable, or at cost-scales which envision industrial-scale processes fabricating large numbers of cheap robots ( Citation: Cybulski, Clements & al., 2014 Cybulski, J., Clements, J. & Prakash, M. (2014). Foldscope: Origami-based paper microscope. PLoS ONE, 9(6). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098781 ) ( Citation: Shigemune, Maeda & al., 2015 Shigemune, H., Maeda, S., Hara, Y., Koike, U. & Hashimoto, S. (2015). Kirigami robot: Making paper robot using desktop cutting plotter and inkjet printer. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353506 ) ( Citation: Niiyama, Sun & al., 2015 Niiyama, R., Sun, X., Yao, L., Ishii, H., Rus, D. & Kim, S. (2015). Sticky Actuator: Free-Form Planar Actuators for Animated Objects. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction - TEI ’14. 77–84. https://doi.org/10.1145/2677199.2680600 ) .

The ideas of foldable mechanisms have been realized by solving a number of problems related to design, fabrication, assembly, and

• design - tools for making design process go faster and for plannig manufacturing
• manufacturing - methods for automating fabrication and utilizing planar processes
• assembly - self folding techniques, support structures

Foldable devices have been used to address issues in bio-inspired locomotion such as walking (Hoover, 2008), running (Birkmeyer 2009), (Haldane, 2013), (Mulgaonkar, 2018), jumping ( Citation: Koh, Jung & al., 2013 Koh, J., Jung, S., Wood, R. & Cho, K. (2013). A jumping robotic insect based on a torque reversal catapult mechanism. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 3796–3801. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2013.6696899 ) ( Citation: Jung, Member & al., 2014 Jung, G., Member, S., Kim, J., Koh, J., Member, S. & Cho, K. (2014). Role of Compliant Leg in the Flea - Inspired Jumping Mechanism. ) , and flying ( Citation: Teoh, Fuller & al., 2012 Teoh, Z., Fuller, S., Chirarattananon, P., Prez-Arancibia, N., Greenberg, J. & Wood, R. (2012). A hovering flapping-wing microrobot with altitude control and passive upright stability. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 3209–3216. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2012.6386151 ) . A variety of strategies for actuating and powering foldable devices has also been investigated ( Citation: Sitti, 2003 Sitti, M. (2003). Piezoelectrically actuated four-bar mechanism with two flexible links for micromechanical flying insect thorax. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 8(1). 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2003.809126 ) ( Citation: Karpelson & Wood, 2008 Karpelson, M. & Wood, R. (2008). A review of actuation and power electronics options for flapping-wing robotic insects. 2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 779–786. https://doi.org/10.1109/ROBOT.2008.4543300 ) ( Citation: Niiyama, Rus & al., 2014 Niiyama, R., Rus, D. & Kim, S. (2014). Pouch Motors: Printable/Inflatable Soft Actuators for Robotics. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). 6332–6337. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907793 ) .

Robots

Laminate fabrication techniques have recently gained attention as a complete solution for rapidly developing active mechanisms at small scales for use in robots that fly ( Citation: Sreetharan, Whitney & al., 2012 Sreetharan, P., Whitney, J., Strauss, M. & Wood, R. (2012). Monolithic fabrication of millimeter-scale machines. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 22(5). 55027. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/22/5/055027 ) ( Citation: Teoh, Fuller & al., 2012 Teoh, Z., Fuller, S., Chirarattananon, P., Prez-Arancibia, N., Greenberg, J. & Wood, R. (2012). A hovering flapping-wing microrobot with altitude control and passive upright stability. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 3209–3216. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2012.6386151 ) ( Citation: Jafferis, Helbling & al., 2019 Jafferis, N., Helbling, E., Karpelson, M. & Wood, R. (2019). Untethered Flight of an Insect-Sized Flapping-Wing Microscale Aerial Vehicle. Nature. ) , walk ( Citation: Hoover, Steltz & al., 2008 Hoover, A., Steltz, E. & Fearing, R. (2008). RoACH: An autonomous 2.4g crawling hexapod robot. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2008.4651149 ) ( Citation: Zhakypov, Belke & al., 2017 Zhakypov, Z., Belke, C. & Paik, J. (2017). Tribot: A deployable, self-righting and multi-locomotive origami robot. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2017.8206445 ) , and run ( Citation: Hoover, Burden & al., 2010 Hoover, A., Burden, S., Shankar Sastry, S. & Fearing, R. (2010). Bio-inspired design and dynamic maneuverability of a minimally actuated six-legged robot. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/BIOROB.2010.5626034 ) ( Citation: Birkmeyer, Peterson & al., 2009 Birkmeyer, P., Peterson, K. & Fearing, R. (2009). DASH: A dynamic 16g hexapedal robot. 2009 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 2683–2689. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2009.5354561 ) ( Citation: Baisch, Ozcan & al., 2014 Baisch, A., Ozcan, O., Goldberg, B., Ithier, D. & Wood, R. (2014). High speed locomotion for a quadrupedal microrobot. The International Journal of Robotics Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364914521473 ) ( Citation: Mulgaonkar, Araki & al., 2016 Mulgaonkar, Y., Araki, B., Koh, J., Guerrero-Bonilla, L., Aukes, D., Makineni, A., Tolley, M., Rus, D., Wood, R. & Kumar, V. (2016). The Flying Monkey: A Mesoscale Robot That Can Run, Fly, And Grasp. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2016.7487667 ) . Laminate devices can be manufactured quickly using a variety of materials such as carbon fiber, fiberglass, or cardboard, which plays a role in determining system stiffness ( Citation: Sreetharan, Whitney & al., 2012 Sreetharan, P., Whitney, J., Strauss, M. & Wood, R. (2012). Monolithic fabrication of millimeter-scale machines. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 22(5). 55027. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/22/5/055027 ) . These robots may also be generated in an automated or semi-automated fashion from basic user needs ( Citation: Aukes & Wood, 2014 Aukes, D. & Wood, R. (2014). Algorithms for Rapid Development of Inherently-Manufacturable Laminate Devices. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SMASIS2014-7442 ) ( Citation: Mehta & Rus, 2014 Mehta, A. & Rus, D. (2014). An end-to-end system for designing mechanical structures for print-and-fold robots. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 1460–1465. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907044 ) ( Citation: Mehta, DelPreto & al., 2015 Mehta, A., DelPreto, J. & Rus, D. (2015). Integrated Codesign of Printable Robots. Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 7(2). 021015. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029496 ) ( Citation: Schulz, Sung & al., 2017 Schulz, A., Sung, C., Spielberg, A., Zhao, W., Cheng, R., Grinspun, E., Rus, D. & Matusik, W. (2017). Interactive robogami: An end-to-end system for design of robots with ground locomotion. The International Journal of Robotics Research. 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364917723465 ) . A variety of sensing modalities are compatible with laminates, including capacitive ( Citation: Atalay, Atalay & al., 2017 Atalay, O., Atalay, A., Gafford, J., Wang, H., Wood, R. & Walsh, C. (2017). A Highly Stretchable Capacitive-Based Strain Sensor Based on Metal Deposition and Laser Rastering. Advanced Materials Technologies, 2(9). 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/admt.201700081 ) ( Citation: Shin, Felton & al., 2014 Shin, B., Felton, S., Tolley, M. & Wood, R. (2014). Self-assembling sensors for printable machines. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907503 ) , optical ( Citation: Gafford, Wood & al., 2016 Gafford, J., Wood, R. & Walsh, C. (2016). Self-Assembling, Low-Cost, and Modular mm-Scale Force Sensor. IEEE Sensors Journal, 16(1). 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2015.2476368 ) , inductive ( Citation: Shin, Felton & al., 2014 Shin, B., Felton, S., Tolley, M. & Wood, R. (2014). Self-assembling sensors for printable machines. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907503 ) and strain ( Citation: Gafford, Kesner & al., 2013 Gafford, J., Kesner, S., Wood, R. & Walsh, C. (2013). Force-sensing surgical grasper enabled by pop-up book MEMS. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. 2552–2558. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2013.6696716 ) ( Citation: Sun, Felton & al., 2015 Sun, X., Felton, S., Wood, R. & Kim, S. (2015). Printing angle sensors for foldable robots. IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2015-Decem. 1725–1731. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353600 ) based sensing modes. These sensors may be powered through conductive layers within the laminate itself; this has been demonstrated for self-folding ( Citation: Felton, Tolley & al., 2013 Felton, S., Tolley, M., Onal, C., Rus, D. & Wood, R. (2013). Robot self-assembly by folding: A printed inchworm robot. 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. 277–282. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2013.6630588 ) ( Citation: Felton, Tolley & al., 2014 Felton, S., Tolley, M., Demaine, E., Rus, D. & Wood, R. (2014). A method for building self-folding machines. Science, 345(6197). 644–646. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1252610 ) and sensing and communication ( Citation: Gafford, Ranzani & al., 2017 Gafford, J., Ranzani, T., Russo, S., Degirmenci, A., Kesner, S., Howe, R., Wood, R. & Walsh, C. (2017). Toward Medical Devices With Integrated Mechanisms, Sensors, and Actuators Via Printed-Circuit MEMS. Journal of Medical Devices, 11(1). 011007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4035375 ) . High-speed quadruped robots made using laminate techniques represent some of the fastest robots for their size; they have demonstrated speeds of up to 10 body lengths per second at ~1 g scales ( Citation: Baisch, Ozcan & al., 2014 Baisch, A., Ozcan, O., Goldberg, B., Ithier, D. & Wood, R. (2014). High speed locomotion for a quadrupedal microrobot. The International Journal of Robotics Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364914521473 ) and up to 47 body lengths per second ( Citation: Haldane & Fearing, 2015 Haldane, D. & Fearing, R. (2015). Running beyond the bio-inspired regime. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2015-June(June). 4539–4546. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2015.7139828 ) at ~50 g scales.

Design Tools

While these robots have continued to be developed and demonstrated across a variety of niche-based tasks, more is now understood about how to design ( Citation: Aukes, Goldberg & al., 2014 Aukes, D., Goldberg, B., Cutkosky, M. & Wood, R. (2014). An analytic framework for developing inherently-manufacturable pop-up laminate devices. Smart Materials and Structures, 23(9). 094013. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/23/9/094013 ) , plan for manufacturing ( Citation: Aukes & Wood, 2014 Aukes, D. & Wood, R. (2014). Algorithms for Rapid Development of Inherently-Manufacturable Laminate Devices. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SMASIS2014-7442 ) , and analyze these robots. A number of design tools have been developed for understanding the motion created from hinged, origami-inspired designs using FEA-based approaches ( Citation: Schenk & Guest, 2011 Schenk, M. & Guest, S. (2011). Origami Folding : A Structural Engineering Approach. ) , for enunciating functional needs and combining modular elements ( Citation: Mehta, DelPreto & al., 2015 Mehta, A., DelPreto, J. & Rus, D. (2015). Integrated Codesign of Printable Robots. Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 7(2). 021015. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029496 ) , or for analytically understanding the resulting dynamics of these devices ( Citation: Doshi, Goldberg & al., 2015 Doshi, N., Goldberg, B., Sahai, R., Jafferis, N., Aukes, D., Wood, R. & Paulson, J. (2015). Model Driven Design For Flexure-based Microrobots. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353959 ) ( Citation: Khodambashi, Sharifzadeh & al., 2018 Khodambashi, R., Sharifzadeh, M. & Aukes, D. (2018). An Integrated Design and Simulation Environment for Rapid Prototyping of Laminate Robotic Mechanisms. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-86359 ) . This is necessary due to the dependence upon flexure-based hinges which rely on material deformation to create virtual joints, which can affect system stiffness and damping.

Self-folding

As origami technicques have been increasingly used as engineering solutions, researchers have sought ways to address the need to create and fold shapes automatically using either active materials or embedded actuation. Self folding structures have been realized using shape memory alloys ( Citation: Hawkes, An & al., 2010 Hawkes, E., An, B., Benbernou, N., Tanaka, H., Kim, S., Demaine, E., Rus, D. & Wood, R. (2010). Programmable matter by folding. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(28). 12441–12445. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0914069107 ) ( Citation: Paik & Wood, 2012 Paik, J. & Wood, R. (2012). A bidirectional shape memory alloy folding actuator. Smart Materials and Structures, 21(6). 065013. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/21/6/065013 ) ( Citation: Peraza-Hernandez, Frei & al., 2014 Peraza-Hernandez, E., Frei, K., Hartl, D. & Lagoudas, D. (2014). Folding patterns and shape optimization using SMA-based self-folding laminates. 90571G. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045561 ) , light-based stimulation ( Citation: Liu, Boyles & al., 2012 Liu, Y., Boyles, J., Genzer, J. & Dickey, M. (2012). Self-folding of polymer sheets using local light absorption. Soft Matter, 8(6). 1764. https://doi.org/10.1039/c1sm06564e ) ( Citation: Ryu, D’Amato & al., 2012 Ryu, J., D’Amato, M., Cui, X., Long, K., Jerry Qi, H. & Dunn, M. (2012). Photo-origami—Bending and folding polymers with light. Applied Physics Letters, 100(16). 161908. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3700719 ) , lasers ( Citation: Laflin, Morris & al., 2012 Laflin, K., Morris, C., Muqeem, T. & Gracias, D. (2012). Laser triggered sequential folding of microstructures. Applied Physics Letters, 101(13). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4754607 ) , shape memory polymers ( Citation: Felton, Tolley & al., 2013 Felton, S., Tolley, M., Shin, B., Onal, C., Demaine, E., Rus, D. & Wood, R. (2013). Self-folding with shape memory composites. Soft Matter, 9(32). 7688. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3sm51003d ) ( Citation: Tolley, Felton & al., 2013 Tolley, M., Felton, S., Miyashita, S., Xu, L., , Zhou, M., Rus, D. & Wood, R. (2013). Self-folding shape memory laminates for automated fabrication. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2013.6697068 ) ( Citation: An, Miyashita & al., 2014 An, B., Miyashita, S., Tolley, M., Aukes, D., Meeker, L., Demaine, E., Demaine, M., Wood, R. & Rus, D. (2014). An end-to-end approach to making self-folded 3D surface shapes by uniform heating. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907045 ) ( Citation: Miyashita, Onal & al., 2013 Miyashita, S., Onal, C. & Rus, D. (2013). Self-Folding of an Origami Robot by Uniform Heating. ) ( Citation: Mao, Yu & al., 2015 Mao, Y., Yu, K., Isakov, M., Wu, J., Dunn, M. & Jerry Qi, H. (2015). Sequential Self-Folding Structures by 3D Printed Digital Shape Memory Polymers. Scientific Reports, 5. 13616. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep13616 ) ( Citation: Felton, Becker & al., 2015 Felton, S., Becker, K., Aukes, D. & Wood, R. (2015). Self-folding with shape memory composites at the millimeter scale. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 25(8). 085004. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/25/8/085004 ) , and paper-based actuators ( Citation: Shigemune, Maeda & al., 2015 Shigemune, H., Maeda, S., Hara, Y., Koike, U. & Hashimoto, S. (2015). Kirigami robot: Making paper robot using desktop cutting plotter and inkjet printer. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353506 ) ( Citation: Hamedi, Campbell & al., 2016 Hamedi, M., Campbell, V., Rothemund, P., G??der, F., Christodouleas, D., Bloch, J. & Whitesides, G. (2016). Electrically Activated Paper Actuators. Advanced Functional Materials, 26(15). 2446–2453. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201505123 ) . A comprehensive review can be found in ( Citation: Peraza-Hernandez, Frei & al., 2014 Peraza-Hernandez, E., Frei, K., Hartl, D. & Lagoudas, D. (2014). Folding patterns and shape optimization using SMA-based self-folding laminates. 90571G. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2045561 ) . Self-folding principles can beused to create morphing structures ( Citation: Miyashita, Guitron & al., 2017 Miyashita, S., Guitron, S., Li, S. & Rus, D. (2017). Robotic metamorphosis by origami exoskeletons. Science Robotics, 2(10). eaao4369. https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.aao4369 )

My Work

My research as a PhD student at Stanford University, postdoctoral researcher in the Harvard Microrobotics Lab and currently as the principal investigator of the IDEAlab at Arizona State University has contributed to the literature surrounding the automated design, manufacturing, and analysis of foldable robotic systems, including the representation and computation of laminate systems ( Citation: Aukes, Goldberg & al., 2014 Aukes, D., Goldberg, B., Cutkosky, M. & Wood, R. (2014). An analytic framework for developing inherently-manufacturable pop-up laminate devices. Smart Materials and Structures, 23(9). 094013. https://doi.org/10.1088/0964-1726/23/9/094013 ) , algorithms tailored to compute manufacturable robots ( Citation: Aukes & Wood, 2014 Aukes, D. & Wood, R. (2014). Algorithms for Rapid Development of Inherently-Manufacturable Laminate Devices. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/SMASIS2014-7442 ) , and generating and solving the dynamics of parallel laminate mechanisms using experimentally-determined models ( Citation: Doshi, Goldberg & al., 2015 Doshi, N., Goldberg, B., Sahai, R., Jafferis, N., Aukes, D., Wood, R. & Paulson, J. (2015). Model Driven Design For Flexure-based Microrobots. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353959 ) ( Citation: Khodambashi, Sharifzadeh & al., 2018 Khodambashi, R., Sharifzadeh, M. & Aukes, D. (2018). An Integrated Design and Simulation Environment for Rapid Prototyping of Laminate Robotic Mechanisms. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-86359 ) . This work has resulted in several design tools, including popupCAD, a design and manufacturing planning tool for developing laminate robotic systems. More recent work in our lab has explored the use of machine learning approaches to learn or improve robotic system control in the real world. We have been applying the CMA-ES algorithm for identifying optimal gait parameters and finding preferred fin designs for a fish-inspired swimming robot ( Citation: Sharifzadeh, Khodambashi & al., 2018 Sharifzadeh, M., Khodambashi, R., Zhang, W. & Aukes, D. (2018). On Locomotion of a Laminated Fish-Inspired Robot in a Small-to-Size Environment. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-85594 ) ( Citation: Sharifzadeh & Aukes, 2021 Sharifzadeh, M. & Aukes, D. (2021). Curvature-Induced Buckling for Flapping-Wing Vehicles. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 26(1). 503–514. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2020.3034659 ) . We have used other techniques such as neural networks to learn the nonlinear kinematics of a spherical five-bar linkage in ( Citation: Sharifzadeh, Jiang & al., 2021 Sharifzadeh, M., Jiang, Y. & Aukes, D. (2021). Compensation of Material Deformation in Foldable Robots (A Case Study of Spherical Parallel Manipulators Fabricated via Laminate Processes). ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics (In Prep). ) . Furthermore, we have used a a sample-efficient reinforcement learning strategy with a turtle-inspired robot design that drags itself across a sandy surface to compare locomotion strategies learned in the lab against similar experiments performed in the Arizona desert ( Citation: Luck, Campbell & al., 2017 Luck, K., Campbell, J., Jansen, M., Aukes, D. & Ben Amor, H. (2017). From the Lab to the Desert: Fast Prototyping and Learning of Robot Locomotion. Retrieved from ) ( Citation: Jansen, Luck & al., 2017 Jansen, A., Luck, K., Campbell, J., Amor, H. & Aukes, D. (2017). Bio-inspired Robot Design Considering Load-Bearing and Kinematic Ontogeny of Chelonioidea Sea Turtles. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63537-8_19 ) .

Our lab’s research into the development, modeling, and experimental validation of robotic systems can be found across a number of journal and conference papers, including foldable linkage kinematics ( Citation: Shuch, Rogers & al., 2019 Shuch, B., Rogers, E., Shafa, T. & Aukes, D. (2019). Design Of A Two Dof Laminate Leg Transmission For Creating Walking Robot Platforms. ) , underwater swimming gaits ( Citation: Sharifzadeh, Khodambashi & al., 2018 Sharifzadeh, M., Khodambashi, R., Zhang, W. & Aukes, D. (2018). On Locomotion of a Laminated Fish-Inspired Robot in a Small-to-Size Environment. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-85594 ) ( Citation: Sharifzadeh & Aukes, 2021 Sharifzadeh, M. & Aukes, D. (2021). Curvature-Induced Buckling for Flapping-Wing Vehicles. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 26(1). 503–514. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2020.3034659 ) and laminate mechanism dynamics ( Citation: Doshi, Goldberg & al., 2015 Doshi, N., Goldberg, B., Sahai, R., Jafferis, N., Aukes, D., Wood, R. & Paulson, J. (2015). Model Driven Design For Flexure-based Microrobots. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2015.7353959 ) ( Citation: Khodambashi, Sharifzadeh & al., 2018 Khodambashi, R., Sharifzadeh, M. & Aukes, D. (2018). An Integrated Design and Simulation Environment for Rapid Prototyping of Laminate Robotic Mechanisms. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2018-86359 ) ; we have applied experimental validation to specific platforms including laminate jumping robots ( Citation: Knaup & Aukes, 2019 Knaup, J. & Aukes, D. (2019). Design, Modeling, And Optimization Of A Hopping Robot Platform. ) , foldable-robotic quad-rotors, ( Citation: Yang, Zhang & al., 2019 Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., Kan, Z., Zeng, J. & Wang, M. (2019). Hybrid Jamming for Bioinspired Soft Robotic Fingers. Soft Robotics. soro.2019.0093. https://doi.org/10.1089/soro.2019.0093 ) ( Citation: Mulgaonkar, Araki & al., 2016 Mulgaonkar, Y., Araki, B., Koh, J., Guerrero-Bonilla, L., Aukes, D., Makineni, A., Tolley, M., Rus, D., Wood, R. & Kumar, V. (2016). The Flying Monkey: A Mesoscale Robot That Can Run, Fly, And Grasp. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2016.7487667 ) , jump-gliding devices ( Citation: Lighthouse & Aukes, 2019 Lighthouse, G. & Aukes, D. (2019). Extending the Jumping Range of a Small Robot via Collapsible Gliding Wings. Arizona State University. ) , and hydrogel-based gait controllers ( Citation: Khodambashi, Doroudchi & al., 2019 Khodambashi, R., Doroudchi, A., Sharifzadeh, M., Li, D., Fisher, R., Marvi, H., Peet, M., He, X., Berman, S. & Aukes, D. (2019). Multi DOF Electrical Control of Hydrogel-based Soft Machines. (under revision). 1–35. ) . Prior work in robotic hands and grasping includes the modeling of force interactions between compliant, underactuated hands and externally grasped objects while considering contact and friction. These models were used to optimize hand designs as well as used to understand grasp acquisition and retention ( Citation: Aukes, Heyneman & al., 2011 Aukes, D., Heyneman, B., Duchaine, V. & Cutkosky, M. (2011). Varying spring preloads to select grasp strategies in an adaptive hand. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2011.6095078 ) ( Citation: Aukes, Kim & al., 2012 Aukes, D., Kim, S., Garcia, P., Edsinger, A. & Cutkosky, M. (2012). Selectively compliant underactuated hand for mobile manipulation. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2012.6224738 ) ( Citation: Aukes & Cutkosky, 2013 Aukes, D. & Cutkosky, M. (2013). Simulation-based tools for evaluating underactuated hand designs. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2013.6630854 ) ( Citation: Aukes, 2013 Aukes, D. (2013). Design and Analysis of Selectively Compliant Underactuated Robotic Hands  (PhD thesis). Stanford University Retrieved from ) ( Citation: Aukes, Heyneman & al., 2014 Aukes, D., Heyneman, B., Ulmen, J., Stuart, H., Cutkosky, M., Kim, S., Garcia, P. & Edsinger, A. (2014). Design and testing of a selectively compliant underactuated hand. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 33(5). 721–735. https://doi.org/10.1177/0278364913518997 ) ( Citation: Stuart, Wang & al., 2014 Stuart, H., Wang, S., Gardineer, B., Christensen, D., Aukes, D. & Cutkosky, M. (2014). A compliant underactuated hand with suction flow for underwater mobile manipulation. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2014.6907847 ) .

Terminology

The same types of device have been described by a large number of different terms, including “SCM”, “nanostructured origami”, “pop-up book MEMS”, “printed-Circuit MEMS(PC-MEMS)”, “origami-inspired robots”, “printable robots”, “lamina-emergent mechanisms”, “informal robots”, “laminate robots”, “foldable robots”, “robogami”, and “print-and-fold origami”

Bibliography