Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves
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0:02 - 0:06As a roboticist,
I get asked a lot of questions. -
0:06 - 0:08"When we will they start
serving me breakfast?" -
0:09 - 0:14So I thought the future of robotics
would be looking more like us. -
0:16 - 0:18I thought they would look like me,
-
0:18 - 0:22so I built eyes
that would simulate my eyes. -
0:23 - 0:28I built fingers that are dextrous
enough to serve me ... -
0:28 - 0:29baseballs.
-
0:32 - 0:34Classical robots like this
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0:34 - 0:37are built and become functional
-
0:37 - 0:40based on the fixed number
of joints and actuators. -
0:41 - 0:45And this means their functionality
and shape are already fixed -
0:45 - 0:47at the moment of their conception.
-
0:47 - 0:50So even though this arm
has a really nice throw -- -
0:50 - 0:53it even hit the tripod at the end--
-
0:54 - 0:57it's not meant for cooking you
breakfast per se. -
0:57 - 1:01It's not really suited for scrambled eggs.
-
1:01 - 1:05So this was when I was hit
by a new vision of future robotics: -
1:06 - 1:08the transformers.
-
1:09 - 1:12They drive, they run, they fly,
-
1:12 - 1:16all depending on the ever-changing,
new environment and task at hand. -
1:17 - 1:19To make this a reality,
-
1:19 - 1:22you really have to rethink
how robots are designed. -
1:23 - 1:27So, imagine a robotic module
in a polygon shape -
1:27 - 1:30and using that simple polygon shape
-
1:30 - 1:33to reconstruct multiple different forms
-
1:33 - 1:37to create a new form of robot
for different tasks. -
1:38 - 1:41In CG, computer graphics,
it's not any news -- -
1:41 - 1:45it's been done for a while, and that's how
most of the movies are made. -
1:45 - 1:49But if you're trying to make a robot
that's physically moving, -
1:49 - 1:50it's a completely new story.
-
1:51 - 1:53It's a completely new paradigm.
-
1:54 - 1:56But you've all done this.
-
1:57 - 2:03Who hasn't made a paper airplane,
paper boat, paper crane? -
2:04 - 2:08Origami is a versatile
platform for designers. -
2:08 - 2:12From a single sheet of paper,
you can make multiple shapes, -
2:12 - 2:15and if you don't like it,
you unfold and fold back again. -
2:16 - 2:22Any 3D form can be made
from 2D surfaces by folding, -
2:22 - 2:25and this is proven mathematically.
-
2:27 - 2:31And imagine if you were to have
an intelligent sheet -
2:31 - 2:35that can self-fold into any form it wants,
-
2:35 - 2:36anytime.
-
2:36 - 2:39And that's what I've been working on.
-
2:39 - 2:42I call this robotic origami,
-
2:42 - 2:43"robogami."
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2:45 - 2:49This is our first robogami transformation
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2:49 - 2:52that was made by me about 10 years ago.
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2:52 - 2:54From a flat-sheeted robot,
-
2:54 - 2:57it turns into a pyramid
and back into a flat sheet -
2:57 - 3:00and into a space shuttle.
-
3:01 - 3:02Quite cute.
-
3:03 - 3:10Ten years later, with my group
of ninja origami robotic researchers -- -
3:10 - 3:12about 22 of them right now --
-
3:12 - 3:16we have a new generation of robogamis,
-
3:16 - 3:19and they're a little more effective
and they do more than that. -
3:20 - 3:23So the new generation of robogamis
actually serve a purpose. -
3:23 - 3:29For example, this one actually navigates
through different terrains autonomously. -
3:29 - 3:32So when it's a dry
and flat land, it crawls. -
3:34 - 3:37And if it meets sudden rough terrain,
-
3:37 - 3:38it starts rolling.
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3:38 - 3:40It does this -- it's the same robot --
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3:40 - 3:44but depending on which terrain it meets,
-
3:44 - 3:48it activates a different sequence
of actuators that's on board. -
3:50 - 3:54And once it meets an obstacle,
it jumps over it. -
3:55 - 3:59It does this by storing energy
in each of its legs -
3:59 - 4:03and releasing it and catapulting
like a slingshot. -
4:03 - 4:05And it even does gymnastics.
-
4:06 - 4:07Yay.
-
4:07 - 4:08(Laughter)
-
4:09 - 4:13So I just showed you
what a single robogami can do. -
4:13 - 4:16Imagine what they can do as a group.
-
4:16 - 4:20They can join forces to tackle
more complex tasks. -
4:20 - 4:23Each module, either active or passive,
-
4:23 - 4:27we can assemble them
to create different shapes. -
4:27 - 4:29Not only that, by controlling
the folding joints, -
4:29 - 4:34we're able to create and attack
different tasks. -
4:34 - 4:37The form is making new task space.
-
4:38 - 4:42And this time, what's most
important is the assembly. -
4:42 - 4:46They need to autonomously
find each other in a different space, -
4:46 - 4:51attach and detach, depending on
the environment and task. -
4:52 - 4:54And we can do this now.
-
4:54 - 4:56So what's next?
-
4:56 - 4:57Our imagination.
-
4:58 - 5:00This is a simulation
of what you can achieve -
5:00 - 5:02with this type of module.
-
5:02 - 5:05We decided that we were going
to have a four-legged crawler -
5:07 - 5:10turn into a little dog
and make small gaits. -
5:10 - 5:14With the same module, we can actually
make it do something else: -
5:14 - 5:17a manipulator, a typical,
classical robotic task. -
5:17 - 5:20So with a manipulator,
it can pick up an object. -
5:20 - 5:24Of course, you can add more modules
to make the manipulator legs longer -
5:24 - 5:28to attack or pick up objects
that are bigger or smaller, -
5:28 - 5:30or even have a third arm.
-
5:32 - 5:36For robogamis, there's no
one fixed shape nor task. -
5:37 - 5:41They can transform into anything,
anywhere, anytime. -
5:42 - 5:45So how do you make them?
-
5:45 - 5:50The biggest technical challenge
of robogami is keeping them super thin, -
5:50 - 5:52flexible,
-
5:52 - 5:54but still remaining functional.
-
5:55 - 5:58They're composed of multiple layers
of circuits, motors, -
5:58 - 6:01microcontrollers and sensors,
-
6:01 - 6:03all in the single body,
-
6:03 - 6:06and when you control
individual folding joints, -
6:06 - 6:10you'll be able to achieve
soft motions like that -
6:10 - 6:11upon your command.
-
6:14 - 6:19Instead of being a single robot that is
specifically made for a single task, -
6:19 - 6:23robogamis are optimized to do multi-tasks.
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6:23 - 6:25And this is quite important
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6:25 - 6:29for the difficult and unique
environments on the Earth -
6:29 - 6:32as well as in space.
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6:34 - 6:37Space is a perfect
environment for robogamis. -
6:38 - 6:42You cannot afford to have
one robot for one task. -
6:43 - 6:46Who knows how many tasks
you will encounter in space? -
6:47 - 6:54What you want is a single robotic platform
that can transform to do multi-tasks. -
6:55 - 7:00What we want is a deck
of thin robogami modules -
7:00 - 7:05that can transform to do multiples
of performing tasks. -
7:06 - 7:10And don't take my word for it,
-
7:10 - 7:13because the European Space Agency
and Swiss Space Center -
7:13 - 7:15are sponsoring this exact concept.
-
7:16 - 7:21So here you see a couple of images
of reconfiguration of robogamis, -
7:21 - 7:24exploring the foreign land
aboveground, on the surface, -
7:24 - 7:26as well as digging into the surface.
-
7:27 - 7:29It's not just exploration.
-
7:29 - 7:32For astronauts, they need additional help,
-
7:32 - 7:35because you cannot afford
to bring interns up there, either. -
7:35 - 7:36(Laughter)
-
7:36 - 7:39They have to do every tedious task.
-
7:39 - 7:40They may be simple,
-
7:41 - 7:42but super interactive.
-
7:43 - 7:46So you need robots
to facilitate their experiments, -
7:46 - 7:49assisting them with the communications
-
7:49 - 7:54and just docking onto surfaces to be
their third arm holding different tools. -
7:55 - 7:58But how will they be able
to control robogamis, for example, -
7:58 - 8:00outside the space station?
-
8:00 - 8:04In this case, I show a robogami
that is holding space debris. -
8:04 - 8:08You can work with your vision
so that you can control them, -
8:08 - 8:12but what would be better
is having the sensation of touch -
8:12 - 8:16directly transported onto
the hands of the astronauts. -
8:16 - 8:19And what you need is a haptic device,
-
8:19 - 8:22a haptic interface that recreates
the sensation of touch. -
8:23 - 8:26And using robogamis, we can do this.
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8:27 - 8:31This is the world's
smallest haptic interface -
8:32 - 8:38that can recreate a sensation of touch
just underneath your fingertip. -
8:38 - 8:41We do this by moving the robogami
-
8:41 - 8:45by microscopic and macroscopic
movements at the stage. -
8:46 - 8:49And by having this, not only
will you be able to feel -
8:49 - 8:51how big the object is,
-
8:51 - 8:54the roundness and the lines,
-
8:54 - 8:58but also the stiffness and the texture.
-
8:59 - 9:03Alex has this interface
just underneath his thumb, -
9:03 - 9:08and if he were to use this
with VR goggles and hand controllers, -
9:08 - 9:11now the virtual reality
is no longer virtual. -
9:12 - 9:14It becomes a tangible reality.
-
9:17 - 9:20The blue ball, red ball
and black ball that he's looking at -
9:20 - 9:23is no longer differentiated by colors.
-
9:23 - 9:28Now it is a rubber blue ball,
sponge red ball and billiard black ball. -
9:29 - 9:30This is now possible.
-
9:31 - 9:32Let me show you.
-
9:34 - 9:38This is really the first time
this is shown live -
9:38 - 9:41in front of a public grand audience,
-
9:41 - 9:43so hopefully this works.
-
9:44 - 9:48So what you see here
is an atlas of anatomy -
9:48 - 9:51and the robogami haptic interface.
-
9:51 - 9:53So, like all the other
reconfigurable robots, -
9:53 - 9:55it multitasks.
-
9:55 - 9:57Not only is it going to serve as a mouse,
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9:57 - 9:59but also a haptic interface.
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9:59 - 10:03So for example, we have a white background
where there is no object. -
10:03 - 10:05That means there is nothing to feel,
-
10:05 - 10:09so we can have a very,
very flexible interface. -
10:09 - 10:13Now, I use this as a mouse
to approach skin, -
10:13 - 10:14a muscular arm,
-
10:14 - 10:16so now let's feel his biceps,
-
10:16 - 10:17or shoulders.
-
10:17 - 10:20So now you see
how much stiffer it becomes. -
10:20 - 10:22Let's explore even more.
-
10:22 - 10:25Let's approach the ribcage.
-
10:25 - 10:27And as soon as I move
on top of the ribcage -
10:27 - 10:30and between the intercostal muscles,
-
10:30 - 10:31which is softer and harder,
-
10:31 - 10:33I can feel the difference
of the stiffness. -
10:33 - 10:35Take my word for it.
-
10:35 - 10:39So now you see, it's much stiffer
in terms of the force -
10:39 - 10:41it's giving back to my fingertip.
-
10:42 - 10:46So I showed you the surfaces
that aren't moving. -
10:46 - 10:49How about if I were to approach
something that moves, -
10:49 - 10:51for example, like a beating heart?
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10:51 - 10:53What would I feel?
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11:00 - 11:06(Applause)
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11:07 - 11:09This can be your beating heart.
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11:10 - 11:14This can actually be inside your pocket
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11:14 - 11:15while you're shopping online.
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11:16 - 11:20Now you'll be able to feel the difference
of the sweater that you're buying, -
11:20 - 11:21how soft it is,
-
11:21 - 11:24if it's actually cashmere or not,
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11:24 - 11:26or the bagel that you're trying to buy,
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11:26 - 11:29how hard it is or how crispy it is.
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11:30 - 11:32This is now possible.
-
11:35 - 11:41The robotics technology is advancing
to be more personalized and adaptive, -
11:41 - 11:44to adapt to our everyday needs.
-
11:44 - 11:48This unique specie
of reconfigurable robotics -
11:48 - 11:54is actually the platform to provide
this invisible, intuitive interface -
11:54 - 11:57to meet our exact needs.
-
11:58 - 12:02These robots will no longer look like
the characters from the movies. -
12:03 - 12:07Instead, they will be whatever
you want them to be. -
12:07 - 12:08Thank you.
-
12:08 - 12:12(Applause)
- Title:
- Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves
- Speaker:
- Jamie Paik
- Description:
-
Taking design cues from origami, robotician Jamie Paik and her team created "robogamis": folding robots made out super-thin materials that can reshape and transform themselves. In this talk and tech demo, Paik shows how robogamis could adapt to achieve a variety of tasks on earth (or in space) and demonstrates how they roll, jump, catapult like a slingshot and even pulse like a beating heart.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 12:26
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Oliver Friedman approved English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves | ||
Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for Origami robots that reshape and transform themselves |