Modeling of an origami robot driven by electrostatic forces

Origami is an interesting methodology for developing soft devices, machines and robots. We have developed an origami robot in our previous work, which is driven by electrostatic forces. This robot exhibited interesting attributes of simple structure, light weight, and low cost. A model is expected to play a significant role in interpreting its behavior and improving its performance. In this paper, we illustrate a dynamic model to analyze this origami robot’s motion. The finite element method is first employed to simulate the electrostatic forces among non-parallel deformable plates. A multi-body dynamic model is then developed to interpret the mechanism of this origami robot. The material and structural parameters are calibrated, the forces are analyzed (including the electrostatic forces, inertia forces, frictions, etc), and the robot’s dynamic behaviors are finally predicted. The calculations are well consistent with the experimental results.