University of Washington researchers have developed a tiny robot that doesn’t use batteries to change shape in mid-air, just origami. Put simply, these ‘microflier’ robots are dropped from a drone before using a Miura-ori origami fold to switch from tumbling and dispersing outward through the air to dropping straight to the ground.
Each microflier weighs just 400 milligrams and can travel the distance of a football field when dropped from 40 meters (131 feet) in a light breeze. Researchers control the timing of each deviceโs transition using either an onboard pressure sensor (estimating altitude), an onboard timer or a Bluetooth signal to ensure that fliers are spread out during tests. These robots can also carry onboard sensors to measure humidity, temperature and other weather conditions when flying.
- ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ - The drone is lightweight and compact, weighing...
- ๐ก๐ผ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ก๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ - Under 249 g, FAA Registration and Remote ID are not required if...
- ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ง๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ - Enjoy longer flights with DJI Mini 2 SE, which offers a 31-min max flight...
Using origami opens up a new design space for microfliers. We combine the Miura-ori fold, which is inspired by geometric patterns found in leaves, with power harvesting and tiny actuators to allow our fliers to mimic the flight of different leaf types in mid-air. In its unfolded flat state, our origami structure tumbles chaotically in the wind, similar to an elm leaf. But switching to the folded state changes the airflow around it and enables a stable descent, similarly to how a maple leaf falls,” said Vikram Iyer, UW assistant professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering.
