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Standardizing structure design of soft robots through origami

Nature Reviews Electrical Engineering volume 2, pages 145–146 (2025)Cite this article

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Soft robots offer an ideal embodiment for artificial intelligence integration owing to their inherent safe interaction with humans. However, their growth is impeded by low standardization. Origami-based standardized soft actuators and a LEGO-like assembly strategy enable the creation of complex, functional, soft robotic systems.

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Fig. 1: Design paradigm of standardized origami robots.
The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Hongying Zhang, Zheng Wang & Zirui Fan

Authors
  1. Hongying Zhang
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  2. Zheng Wang
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  3. Zirui Fan
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Correspondence to Hongying Zhang.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Related links

Bionic Projects: https://stem.festo.com/us/en/our-approach/bionics/bionic-projects-by-festo/index.html

Bionics4Educations: https://www.festo.com/us/en/e/technicaleducation/educational-concepts/highlights/bionics4education-id_35778/

McKibben muscle: https://cyberneticzoo.com/bionics/1957-artificial-muscle-joseph-laws-mckibben-american/

Robosoft 2023: https://robosoft2023.org/

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Zhang, H., Wang, Z. & Fan, Z. Standardizing structure design of soft robots through origami. Nat Rev Electr Eng 2, 145–146 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44287-025-00152-y

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