Fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles

Artificial muscles hold promise for safe and powerful actuation for myriad common machines and robots. However, the design, fabrication, and implementation of artificial muscles are often limited by their material costs, operating principle, scalability, and single-degree-of-freedom contractile actuation motions. Here we propose an architecture for fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles. This concept requires only a compressible skeleton, a flexible skin, and a fluid medium. A mechanical model is developed to explain the interaction of the three components. A fabrication method is introduced to rapidly manufacture low-cost artificial muscles using various materials and at multiple scales. The…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: 1240383, 1226075, 1138967, 1226883, EFRI-1240383, IIS-1226075
• DA
  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  Award: FA8650-15-C-7548
• AR
  Advanced Research Projects Agency
• HW
  Hansjörg Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University
• DO
  Division of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation

  Award: EFRI-1240383