A research team led by Assistant Professor Hiroki Shigemune (Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering) of Shibaura Institute of Technology has established a method for autonomous movement and folding of paper after printing with a standard inkjet printer.We have succeeded in developing a soft robot (Note) that starts moving after the three-dimensional structure is formed autonomously.
The method by which the paper folds automatically to create an origami structure mimics the driving mechanism of plants.The energy is the reaction between the cellulose fibers of paper and the chemical solution to be printed, and no external energy source such as electric power is required for the folding operation.
Specifically, by putting a chemical solution in an ink cartridge of an inkjet printer and printing a simple straight line on the paper, the paper is automatically folded starting from the line.Then, by installing chemicals with different concentrations in the ink cartridge, it was possible to order the folding.Along with this, the relationship between the concentration of the drug solution and the folding time was also clarified.The more cartridges you have, the more movement you may be able to program on the paper.
By printing the structure and movement, it can be used for three-dimensional packaging of soft and brittle products, and by keeping the solar panel always facing the sun, the amount of energy collected can be increased, and a wide range of applications of the technology are expected.
In the future, the research team will work on combining the two technologies announced this time, "How to fold paper autonomously" and "How to print electrical wiring on paper with an ordinary printer".Both are methods using a general inkjet printer and do not require special equipment.It is said that it will work on the realization of manufacturing electronic parts and paper soft robots easily in a short time.
Note: A robot that realizes the "softness" of living body skin, muscles, joints, etc.
Paper information:[Advanced Intelligent Systems] Programming Stepwise Motility into a Sheet of Paper Using Inkjet Printing
