A newly developed “transformer” robot with the ability to change its shape could one day be used to build habitats in space.
Engineers at North Carolina State University (NC State) have developed a cube-shaped plastic structure that can transform into more than 1,000 configurations using just three active motors. In theory, their design – which was largely inspired by the paper-folding art of origami – offers a more efficient way to send assembly structures into space, where the robot could then “transform” to serve different purposes, including carrying a load, according to a statement from the state of NC.
“We think that these can be used as deployable, configurable space robots and Habitatssaid Antonio Di Lallo, co-lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University, in the statement. “It’s modular, so you can send it flat into space and assemble it as a shelter or habitat and then take it apart again.”
The team’s Transformer Bots consist of 36 3D printed hollow plastic cubes assembled with rotating hinges. Some of the hinges are attached with metal pins, while others are activated wirelessly with a motor. The researchers were able to transform the robotic structures into various shapes, from tunnels and bridges to multi-story architectures.
“Our question is how can we achieve a range of versatile shapes with as few actuators as possible driving the shape-shifting,” said Jie Yin, study co-author and associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State, in the same statement. “Here, we use a hierarchical concept observed in nature — like layered muscle fibers — but with plastic cubes to create a transforming robot.”
Related: Could these large, expandable habitats help humanity colonize the Moon and Mars?
During the shape change, the Transformer bots can move forward, backward and sideways. The bots can transform relatively quickly from a flat or completely open form into a boxy larger cube or a completely closed structure. They can also carry a load of about three times their own weight and a inclined surfacethe statement says.
“We want to create a more robust structure that can bear larger loads,” Yanbin Li, study co-author and a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University, said in the statement. “For example, if we want to have the shape of a car, how do we design the first structure that can transform into a car shape? We also want to test our structures with real-world applications such as space robots.”
Their results were published on 26 July in the journal Nature Communications.
