Robotic Explorer for Hypothesized Surfaces – Origami Explorers

INSTITUTION

Seattle University (SU)

CLASS

Platinum Class (2025 – 2026)

STUDENT TEAM

ACADEMIC GUIDANCE

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

While the surface of Psyche remains unexplored, it is hypothesized to have highly variable terrain, presenting a significant challenge for traditional wheeled rovers. Our team is designing a robotic explorer to address this problem, leading us to investigate the potential of origami robotics. Our design will serve as a terrestrial proof of concept to validate this novel mobility system, rather than a flight-ready spacecraft. Our current prototype is a simple, functional demonstration of these origami design principles.

This work was created in partial fulfillment of the Seattle University Capstone Course “INT 265.” The work is a result of the Psyche Student Collaborations component of NASA’s Psyche Mission (https://psyche.ssl.berkeley.edu). “Psyche: A Journey to a Metal World” [Contract number NNM16AA09C] is part of the NASA Discovery Program mission to solar system targets. Trade names and trademarks of ASU and NASA are used in this work for identification only. Their usage does not constitute an official endorsement, either expressed or implied, by Arizona State University or National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of ASU or NASA.