Design of CLARI: A miniature modular origami passive shape-morphing robot

TL;DR

CLARI is a miniature, modular origami-inspired robot capable of body deformation and locomotion in various shapes, enabling navigation in complex terrains, with potential applications in search-and-rescue and inspection.

Contribution

This work introduces a novel insect-scale robot with modular, actuated legs and deformable body architecture, fabricated using laminate and origami techniques, advancing adaptable locomotion in cluttered environments.

Findings

Demonstrated locomotion across multiple gaits and body shapes.

Achieved body deformation with eight independently actuated degrees of freedom.

Showcased navigation in constrained and cluttered terrains.

Abstract

Miniature robots provide unprecedented access to confined environments and show promising potential for novel applications such as search-and-rescue and high-value asset inspection. The capability of body deformation further enhances the reachability of these small robots in complex cluttered terrains similar to those of insects and soft arthropods. Motivated by this concept, we present CLARI, an insect-scale 2.59g quadrupedal robot capable of body deformation with tethered electrical connections for power and control and manufactured using laminate fabrication and assembled using origami pop-up techniques. In order to enable locomotion in multiple shape configurations, we designed a novel body architecture comprising of modular, actuated leg mechanisms. Overall, CLARI has eight independently actuated degrees of freedom (two per modular leg unit) driven by custom piezoelectric actuators, making it mechanically dextrous. We characterize open-loop robot locomotion at multiple stride frequencies (1-10Hz) using multiple gaits (trot, walk, etc.) in three different fixed body shapes (long, symmetric, wide) and illustrate the robot's capabilities. Finally, we demonstrate preliminary results of CLARI locomoting with a compliant body in open terrain and through a laterally constrained gap, a novel capability for legged robots. Our results represent the first step towards achieving effective cluttered terrain navigation with adaptable compliant robots in real-world environments.