Development of a micro-origami-robot actuated by biomolecular artificial muscle

Abstract

Microrobots are attracting attention due to their broad application prospects. A newly proposed artificial muscle by self-organizing biomolecular motors may bring innovation to the development of microrobots, as an alternative actuator. In this work, we developed a 3D origami microrobot actuated by this artificial muscle for moving at the air-water interface. The usefulness of manufacturing microrobots with 3D complex structures by combing 2D photolithography and micro-origami process was verified. By optimizing the curved part of the rear leg, the flexibility of the rear leg was improved, making the robot able to be actuated by a force of 2 μN. The experimental results show that the contraction force of the artificial muscle was not effectively transmitted to the robot and further work is needed to improve the design.