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Development of an origami-based robot molting structure

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Abstract

Inspired by the molting behavior of living organisms, this paper describes a molting robot structure with a self-repair function. In past robot self-repair methods, the strength after repair was usually lower than before the repair. To realize a robot that can repeatedly repair its exterior while maintaining its quality, the replacement exterior that becomes the new outer skin is folded like origami and enclosed inside the robot. During the repair, the outer exterior can be replaced by extracting the replacement exterior from inside the robot. A prototype of the proposed molting structure was experimentally tested and its proper operation was confirmed. In addition, a honeycomb structure was combined with a bellows structure to improve the strength of the outer skin.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP20H02412.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan

    Aiko Miyamoto & Mitsuharu Matsumoto

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  1. Aiko Miyamoto
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  2. Mitsuharu Matsumoto
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Correspondence to Mitsuharu Matsumoto.

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Miyamoto, A., Matsumoto, M. Development of an origami-based robot molting structure. Artif Life Robotics 28, 645–651 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-023-00884-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10015-023-00884-w

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