A modern robot inspired by origami and earthworms will crawl … everywhere

Scientists from Stanford and Ohio State University joined forces and began to work together to create a modern robot inspired by origami and earthworms. Objective? Look into nooks and crannies where it is difficult to get.

A modern origami inspired robot

Scientists have constructed their caterpillar robot from flexible cylindrical elements and a magnetic field in order to use it in the future for medical diagnostics or deliver the necessary drugs directly in the human body. For this purpose, a special origami pattern called the Kresling pattern was chosen by adding magnets to the mixture.

The project involved the creation of four assemblies of short, origami-folded cylinders that are sandwiched between four magnets (two at the ends of the tracks and two in between). This allows the robot’s body to act like an accordion, allowing it to move in one direction, in a zigzag or circle, when the direction of the magnetic field is changed.

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The research team also showed that the robots were able to deliver drugs by carrying tablets which then dissolved in water. Now he hopes that, based on their discoveries, they will create a caterpillar robot that, under the influence of a magnetic field, will be able to move with great precision in small and confined spaces.