Design and Analysis of an Origami Robot With Tensegrity Characteristics

In recent years, small ground robots have demonstrated significant potential in the exploration of complex environments and in rescue operations. However, the rigid structure of conventional robots affects the adaptability and popularity of robots. The research team was inspired by features such as the miniaturization and transport costs of origami mechanisms. Simultaneously considering the high flexibility and self‐stability characteristics of a tensegrity structure, a strategy is proposed to integrate the tensegrity structure and the origami mechanism. Based on this integration strategy, this article firstly designs the body structure of an origami robot based on X‐type two‐bar three‐cable. Then the four‐bar drive mechanism and variable friction mechanism were designed. Finally, the construction of the origami robot is completed. The experiment results show that the crawling height range of the origami robot is 7.5–10.5 cm, and the adaptive height is 29% of the robot’s height. The vertical jump height of the origami robot is 8.0 cm, which is 76% of the robot’s height. The integration structure proposed in this article has stable structural characteristics. The origami robot with tensegrity characteristics has good mobility, load‐bearing capacity, environmental adaptability, and impact resistance.