Design of Flexible Robot Arm Based on Origami Structure

Origami structure has the advantages of light weight and large deformation. Based on the axial deformation characteristics of Yoshimura and the radial deformation characteristics of Waterbomb, a flexible robot arm driven by the origami pneumatic muscles is designed. Firstly, a multiple degrees of freedom deformable actuator composed of Yoshimura and origami pneumatic muscles is proposed. The influence of the skeleton thickness of the pneumatic muscles on the output force is studied and the overall deformability of the actuator is measured. Then, an origami grasping structure driven by annular pneumatic muscle is introduced, and the grasping performance of the structure is analyzed. Finally, an experimental platform of the robotic arm is built. The experimental results show that the origami robot arm has good deformation ability, and the end gripper can adapt to the grasp of round shape and soft materials well.