Algorithmic Design of Origami Mechanisms and Robots

这个项目的目标是开发具有定制几何和运动要求的折叠机器人的自动化设计算法。折叠是一种常用且可扩展的制造工艺，用于从金属或塑料薄片制作3D对象。目前，设计折叠机构和机器人是一个复杂的过程，即使是熟练的工程师也需要经历多次设计迭代。然而，与此同时，工程师必须处理的许多约束本质上是几何的，可以通过算法解决。端到端设计的新算法，将设计规范直接转换为3D物理可实现的机器人，将简化设计过程，降低机器人的门槛，并在需要快速部署时，为定制机器人打开机会，例如在紧急救援或在未知环境的搜索和探索中。为了开发这些算法，研究人员将解决折纸启发的工程学、机器人学和计算几何中的基本问题。尽管这项工作将专注于以折纸为灵感的制造，但由此产生的系统的部分也将适用于其他制造技术，包括3D打印或更传统的加工。这项研究将为算法设计提供正式的见解，实现全自动化的端到端设计流程，在几小时或几天内产生有效的、功能齐全的机器人组件。该项目的具体目标是将需要工作空间或可实现轨迹的运动链和树的设计正规化。这个项目的主要见解是，这种性质的几何设计问题可以直接映射到计算几何和机器人社区已经探索的路径规划问题上。特别是，研究人员采取了模块化的方法，将机器人构建为数据库中的连杆和关节组件的组合，每个组件都与一种等价的路径类型相关联。通过这种方法，可以将运动学设计问题从具体的制造细节中部分抽象出来。研究人员将开发算法，将运动学关节规范转换为等价的路径和机器人设计，以及何时可以或不可能进行这样的过程的正式保证。他们将用塑料板折叠产生的设计，以确保它们是物理上可实现的。结果将通过开放源码软件和易于使用的相关图形用户界面、工程会议的研讨会以及费城及其周围的艺术和教育研讨会相结合的方式传播。这项研究将产生广泛的社会影响，使由此产生的设计软件可供不同人群使用，包括K-12学生、教师、业余爱好者和其他非工程用户。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of this project is to develop algorithms for automated design of folded robots with custom geometry and motion requirements. Folding is a commonly used and scalable manufacturing process for making 3D objects from sheets of metal or plastic. Currently, designing folded mechanisms and robots is a complex process that requires even skilled engineers to go through multiple design iterations. At the same time, however, many of the constraints that engineers must deal with are geometric in nature and can be addressed algorithmically. New algorithms for end-to-end design that convert design specifications directly into 3D physically realizable robots would simplify the design process, lower barriers to robotics, and open opportunities for custom robotics on demand when rapid deployment is required, for example in emergency relief or in search and exploration of unknown environments. In order to develop these algorithms, the researchers will address fundamental questions in origami-inspired engineering, robotics, and computational geometry. Although the work will focus on origami-inspired fabrication, parts of the resulting system will also be applicable to other fabrication techniques, including 3D printing or more traditional machining. The research will provide formal insights into algorithmic design that enables fully automated end-to-end design pipelines, resulting in valid, functional, robotic components within hours or days. The specific objective of this project is to formalize the design of kinematic chains and trees that have required workspaces or achievable trajectories. The main insight underlying this project is that geometric design problems of this nature can be mapped directly onto path planning problems that have been explored by the computational geometry and robotics communities. In particular, the researchers take a modular approach, in which a robot is constructed as a combination of link and joint components from a database, and each component is associated with an equivalent path type. By casting the problem in this way, the problem of kinematic design can be partially abstracted from the specific fabrication details. The researchers will develop algorithms for converting kinematic joint specifications into equivalent paths and robot designs, as well as formal guarantees for when such a process is or is not possible. They will fold the resulting designs out of plastic sheet in order to ensure that they are physically realizable. The results will be disseminated through a combination of open-source software with an associated graphical user interface for ease of use, workshops at engineering conferences, and arts and educational workshops in and around Philadelphia. The research will have broad societal impacts by making the resulting design software accessible to a diverse population, including K-12 students, teachers, hobbyists, and other non-engineering users.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.