Origami for Dexterity in Miniature Manipulation and Testing

现有的操作和测试微型物质的方法有许多缺点，这限制了它们的灵活性，并阻碍了它们在科学和工程领域的广泛应用。它们需要大型复杂的设备，输出力有限，缺乏局部传感能力，并且只有一个或几个自由度用于主动运动。为了解决这些问题，该项目将探索具有多个活动自由度的微型折纸，以创建低成本和可定制的系统，用于多功能运动，传感和灵巧操作。这些微型机械手可以很容易地用于各种应用，如有机细胞的提取和测试，微系统包装，颗粒颗粒之间的摩擦测试和微型机械臂。这些系统的改进的多功能性和低成本将使它们广泛使用，并允许大量制造许多设备来统计测试许多样品或在机器人群中应用。此外，该奖项将支持推广和教育工作，包括通过暑期项目向中学女生介绍工程和微型操纵器；为研究生课程创建折纸机械手课程；并为代表性不足的转学生提供研究和指导机会。该项目将为微型折纸系统的制造、分析、设计、传感和控制建立一个集成的方法，具有先进的灵巧性，用于微型操作和测试。将确定材料系统，并建立制造工艺，以创建电热活性折纸，尺寸范围从10微米到1毫米。对这些系统的测试将有助于了解它们的机械性能、可靠性和响应能力。具有日益复杂的运动的微型折纸将被制造和研究，以深入了解操作器的包装，电路和尺寸限制等实际挑战。将创建简化的静态和动态分析模型来模拟由于微折纸的大角度驱动而发生的电热-热-机械耦合。这些模型将通过实验测试和高保真仿真进行验证，并用于创建一个优化框架，该框架将指导微观折纸的设计，用于物理物质的特定操作任务。设计和制造方法将探讨嵌入压阻和光学位移传感器在微折纸。片内和片外测量将被合成，以允许实时反馈控制和估计由其周围环境或有效载荷作用在操纵器上的力。对微折纸系统的测试将有助于深入了解开环和闭环控制的误差和可重复性，从而实现灵巧的微操作和测试。该项目由跨部门机器人基础研究项目支持，由工程（ENG）和计算机与信息科学与工程（CISE）联合管理和资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Existing methods for the manipulation and testing of miniature matter have numerous drawbacks, which limit their dexterity and inhibit broader adoption in science and engineering. They require large and complex equipment, have limited output forces, lack local sensing capability, and only have one or a few degrees of freedom for active motion. To address these issues, this project will explore micro-origami with multiple active degrees of freedom to create low-cost and customizable systems for versatile motion, sensing, and dexterous manipulation. These miniature manipulators can be readily adopted for various applications such as extraction and testing of organic cells, micro-system packaging, testing of friction between granular particles, and micro-robotic arms. The improved versatility and low-cost of these systems will make them widely accessible and allow for mass fabrication of numerous devices to statistically test many samples or for application within robotic swarms. Additionally, this award will support outreach and educational efforts, including introducing middle-school girls to engineering and micro-manipulators through a summer program; creating curricula on origami inspired manipulators for a graduate course; and establishing research and mentoring opportunities for underrepresented transfer students.The project will establish an integrated methodology for the fabrication, analysis, design, sensing, and control of micro-origami systems with advanced dexterity for miniature manipulation and testing. Material systems will be identified, and fabrication processes will be established to create electro-thermally active origami at scales ranging from 10µm to 1mm. Testing of the systems will give insight to their mechanical performance, reliability, and responsiveness. Micro-origami with increasingly complex motions will be fabricated and investigated to give insight to practical challenges such as packaging, circuits, and dimensional limits of the manipulators. Simplified static and dynamic analytical models will be created to simulate the electro-thermo-mechanical coupling that occurs due to the large angle actuation of the micro-origami. The models will be validated with experimental tests and high-fidelity simulations and used to create an optimization framework that will guide the design of micro-origami for specific tasks in the manipulation of physical matter. Design and fabrication methods will be explored to embed piezoresistive- and optic-based displacement sensors within the micro-origami. On-chip and off-chip measurements will be synthesized to permit for real-time feedback control and estimation of the forces acting on the manipulators by their surroundings or payloads. Testing the micro-origami systems will give insight to the error and repeatability of open- and closed-loop control that would enable dexterous micro-manipulation and testing.This project is supported by the cross-directorate Foundational Research in Robotics program, jointly managed and funded by the Directorates for Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.