Robots that can check your blood pressure

Based on the intricacies of origami -- and inspired by the movements of nature's leeches -- his research is advancing how robots could carry out basic health care tasks in certain conditions, including in remote regions, or where minimal personal contact is needed, such as during pandemics. The research is published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics from Nature Publishing Group. Together with PhD student Tae-Ho Kim and a team in SFU's Additive Manufacturing Lab, Kim and researchers have replaced the traditional blood pressure procedure by replicated the folding mechanisms of the leech in their design of 3-D printable origami sensors. The leech-inspired origami (LIO) sensors can be integrated onto the fingertips of a humanoid-sensing robot. "Our origami-inspired dry electrode has unique characteristics such as suction for grasping and foldability inspired by nature," says Kim, a professor and associate director of SFU's School of Mechatronic Systems Engineering.