Universal Self-Folding Chain Robot
Authors
Sergio Mutis
Alexander Htet Kyaw
Diana Mykhaylychenko
Erik Demaine
Institution
MIT
Year
2025
Description
Universal Self-Folding Chain Robot is a programmable modular robotic system that transforms a single continuous chain into multiple three-dimensional configurations through algorithmic folding. The project combines geometric discretization, a chain-finding algorithm, and a self-folding robotic chain to translate target geometries into executable folding sequences, framing shape change as a computational planning problem rather than a fixed form.
Role
Responsible for robotic design, fabrication, and testing, and for implementing the folding algorithm, with collaboration on the chain-finding pipeline.
Mutis S, Kyaw A, Gallardo R, M. D, Demaine E. 2025. "Self-Folding Modular Chain Robot for Shape-Changing Objects”. ACM - Symposium of Computational Fabrication
Type:
Reseach
Conference
ACM - SCF
Robot Design
The system consists of a 1.8 m self-folding robotic chain composed of 12 two-degree-of-freedom modular units arranged in a continuous kinematic sequence.
Volume to Hamiltonian Folding Algorithmic Pipeline
Target volumes are discretized into a set of spatial nodes matching the robot’s module geometry, after which a chain-finding algorithm computes a continuous ordering through all nodes. The resulting path is converted into a sequence of yaw and pitch angles, producing an executable folding plan that maps geometric structure directly to physical actuation.
