A Dexterous Origami-inspired Soft (DOIS) Robot for Objects Reorientation and Overturn

Soft robots have presented their potential for dexterous and smooth motion with inherent compliance, compact structure, and easy control over the traditional rigid robots. This paper presents a 3D printed origami-inspired soft robot (DOIS) robot, which is inspired by the zig-zag origami structure, capable of bi-lateral bending and linear extension/contraction in a compact structure. The motion range and dimension of DOIS robot are fully customizable. The actuation and control of DOIS robot are realized by two drive cables. Mounting a dedicated end-effector at the tip, the DOIS robot is capable of tackling challenges where robots need flexible motion such as object reorientation. We present two scenarios, egg reorientation and envelope flipping, to show the superiority of DOIS robot. The design, modeling, and control of DOIS robot are discussed in detail in this paper with related experimental validation. The proposed DOIS robot provides a practical solution for dexterous soft robot design.