Skip to main content

Fold it, stretch it, grip it! An origami-inspired arm gives drones grip

Origami Inspired Foldable Robotic Arm (Inspector Gadget Arm)

You don’t need arms to fly but engineers from Seoul National University in South Korea have developed a robotic appendage designed to give drones a better grip on the world. Inspired by origami, the innovative arm can be folded for transport and self-assembles into a rigid appendage when it’s needed for use.

Recommended Videos

In recent years, the ancient art of calculated folding has inspired designs for spacecraft, artificial muscles, and Kevlar shields, thanks to its ability to save space without significantly compromising functionality.

“Imagine using an origami-inspired design,” Kyu Jin Cho, a Seoul National University roboticist who led the project, told Digital Trends. “To make them easily foldable, the structure becomes weak. If you make the structures strong, they are either heavy or not easy to fold. Our design is lightweight and easy to fold and unfold, but can become very stiff. Meeting all these requirements at the same time expands the usage of origami designs. Not just the drone arm we have shown, but imagine a robot that folds itself into a packable size and, when needed, unfolds by itself to become a robot.”

The arm developed by Cho and his team is made up of seven actuators and a single wire that enables it to shift from folded to extended, sort of like an umbrella being opened and closed. When unfolded it can total 27.5 inches in length. This allows it to attach to drones, where it can remain packed during transport and flight, only to unfurl when needed. The arm can sport a gripper or camera on the end to suit its needs.

“If you attach a robotic arm to a drone you can now pick up stuff and perform various manipulations with the drone,” Cho said. “But attaching an arm will make the drone heavy, and bulky. This arm will solve this issue making it easier for drones to attach arms.”

In a video accompanying a paper published last week in the journal Science Robotics, Cho and his team’s drone can be seen flying with the arms packed neatly underneath, before extending downward a few times the length of the drone. The video shows the drone arm performing a number of tasks, including shooting video with a camera and picking up an object from a ditch.

Though the clever design offers a glimpse into the future capabilities of drones, Cho stressed that this is just an initial concept and his team will be working to strengthen and add joints to the arm moving forward.

Dyllan Furness
Former Contributor
Dyllan Furness is a freelance writer from Florida. He covers strange science and emerging tech for Digital Trends, focusing…
Sebastian Stan lays out Bucky’s future after Thunderbolts
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts.

There are some spoilers ahead for the ending of Marvel's Thunderbolts. Stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Earlier this year, Captain America: Brave New World briefly introduced a new direction for James "Bucky" Barnes, a character Sebastian Stan has been playing since 2011 in Captain America: The First Avenger. In Brave New World, the former Winter Soldier apparently retired from being a reformed hero and went into politics by running for Congress. Thunderbolts reveals that Bucky won his election to the House of Representatives. But his stay in Congress was short.

Read more
Jeep Compass EV breaks cover—but will it come to the U.S.?
jeep compass ev us newjeepcompassfirsteditionhawaii  4

Jeep just pulled the wraps off the all-new Compass EV, and while it’s an exciting leap into the electric future, there's a catch—it might not make it to the U.S. anytime soon.
This is a brand new electric version of the Jeep Compass, and being built on Stellantis' STLA platform—the same architecture underpinning models like the Peugeot E-3008 and E-5008—it looks much slicker and packs a lot more inside than previous versions of the Compass.
Let’s start with what’s cool: the new Compass EV is packing up to 404 miles of range on a single charge, a 74 kWh battery, and fast-charging that gets you from 20% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Not bad for a compact SUV with Jeep's badge on the nose.
There are two versions: a front-wheel-drive model with 213 horsepower and a beefier all-wheel-drive version with 375 horsepower. That AWD setup isn’t just for looks—it can handle 20% inclines even without front traction, and comes with extra ground clearance and better off-road angles. In short, it’s still a Jeep.
The design's been refreshed too, and inside you’ll find the kind of tech and comfort you’d expect in a modern EV—sleek, smart, and ready for both city streets and dirt trails.
But here’s the thing: even though production starts soon in Italy, Jeep hasn’t said whether the Compass EV is coming to America. And the signs aren’t promising.
Plans to build it in Canada were recently put on hold, with production now delayed until at least early 2026. Some of that might have to do with possible U.S. tariffs on Canadian and Mexican vehicles—adding a layer of uncertainty to the whole rollout.
According to Kelley Blue Book, a Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that the company has “temporarily paused work on the next-generation Jeep Compass, including activities at” the Canadian plant that was originally meant to build the model. They added that Stellantis is “reassessing its product strategy in North America” to better match customer needs and demand for different powertrain options.
So while Europe and other markets are gearing up to get the Compass EV soon, American drivers might be left waiting—or miss out entirely.
That’s a shame, because on paper, this electric Jeep hits a lot of sweet spots. Let’s just hope it finds a way over here.

Read more
Charlie Cox singles out his least favorite Daredevil: Born Again episode
Charlie Cox in Daredevil: Born Again.

Daredevil: Born Again season 1 was largely reconceived after the 2023 actor and writer strikes. Dario Scardapane -- a veteran of The Punisher series on Netflix -- was brought in to be the new showrunner and he made a lot of changes to the series that were well-received. However, there's one episode that Scardapane didn't really change at all, and it happens to be the least favorite episode of Daredevil: Born Again's leading man, Charlie Cox.

During an appearance on The Playlist, Cox noted that he wasn't very fond of the season's fifth episode, "With Interest," which was a largely standalone episode that featured his character, Matt Murdock, in a bank during a hostage crisis.

Read more