A close-up view of part of a pop-up microrobot, showing the device’s transmission. Each flat section comprises up to 18 layers of material. Photo courtesy of Pratheev Sreetharan.
Production method inspired by children's pop-up books enables rapid fabrication of tiny, complex devices. Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 - A new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet. Devised by engineers at Harvard, the ingenious layering and folding process enables the rapid fabrication of not just microrobots, but a broad range of electromechanical devices. In prototypes, 18 layers of carbon fiber, Kapton (a plastic film), titanium, brass, ceramic, and adhesive sheets have been laminated together in a complex, laser-cut design. The structure incorporates flexible hinges that allow the three-dimensional product-just 2.4 millimeters tall-to assemble in one movement, like a pop-up book. The Harvard Monolithic Bee (or "Mobee") pops up within an assembly scaffold, which performs more than 20 origami assembly folds. Photos courtesy of Pratheev Sreetharan.
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