ABSTRACT
Origami and kirigami, the ancient arts of paper folding and cutting, have inspired groundbreaking innovations in modern robotics, enabling engineers to design systems with unprecedented flexibility, adaptability, and efficiency. By leveraging these techniques, researchers have created innovative robotic systems capable of complex transformations, lightweight structures, and versatile functionalities. These origami- and kirigami-inspired robots can fold, morph, and adapt to a wide range of tasks, from soft robotics and deployable devices to minimally invasive surgery and space exploration. Nevertheless, while significant strides have been made, there remains a compelling need to explore the next frontiers of origami and kirigami in robotics. This workshop seeks to investigate the future potential of these design principles, pushing beyond folding and morphing. We aim to gather leading experts from diverse fields—mechanics, mechanisms, materials science, robotics, and even biomedical engineering—to discuss the latest advances, identify new challenges, and explore how these techniques can further expand the capabilities of future robotic systems. Our objectives encompass addressing extant challenges, cultivating fresh interest, attracting new participants to the field, and fostering collaborative synergies that will drive the evolution of origami and kirigami robotics.
We are calling for researchers at all career stages to contribute short talks, posters, and live demonstrations at the workshop. Those interested should submit an 1-page abstract with a maximum of one figure as a PDF to flexrob@fudan.edu.cn & oxfordbiorobotics@gmail.com.
The submission deadline is Sunday, April 26th, 2026 (11:59 PM, your local time).
Submission details: Two or three of submissions will be chosen to give short lightening talks during the workshop. Other submissions will be accepted to present posters or live demonstrations. We would like to encourage participants to present live demos if possible! There are two prizes sponsored by NOKOV and Advanced Robotics Research for the best lightening talks and posters each.
Chair Professor
Tianjin University
China
Professor
Seoul National University
Korea
Chair Professor
Westlake University
China
Professor
Xian Jiao Tong University
China
Lecturer
University of Sheffield
UK
Associate Professor
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
US
Chair Professor
McGill University
Canada
Professor
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Editor-in-Chief of ADRR
Deputy Editor of AM
UK
Professor
North Carolina State University
US
Assistant Professor
Stanford University
US
Associate Professor, Institute of AI and Robotics, Fudan University
China
Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University
China
Associate Professor, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford
UK
Assistant Professor, Ann Arbor, Robotics Department, University of Michigan
US
Professor, School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Science, Tongji University
China
Professor, Reconfigurable Robotics Laboratory, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Swiss
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Time Speaker Topic
9:00-9:10 Organizers Welcome message
9:10-9:30 Kyujin Cho Origami-Inspired Heavy-Duty Deployable Systems: Compact Storage for Portability and High Payload for Utility.
9:30-9:50 Yan Chen TBD
9:50-10:10 Renee Zhao TBD
10:10-10:30 Hongliang Ren Origami and Kirigami Mechanisms in Medical Robotics
10:30-10:40 Short talks given by two students
10:40-11:00 Coffee break, posters, live demos
11:00-11:20 Sneha K Rhode The focus of ADRR and AM
11:20-11:40 Jie Yin Kiri-Meta-Bot: transforming kirigami metamaterials into robots
11:40-12:00 Cagdas Onal Origami-inspired continuum soft robots
12:00-12:20 Bo Li Kirigami metamaterials and robots
12:20-12:40 Shuhei Miyashita Assigning functionality through folding
12:40-13:00 Damiano Pasini TBD
13:00-13:20 Hanqing Jiang TBD
13:20-13:25 Award announcement
Morning June 5th, Room [TBD]
VIECON – Vienna Congress & Convention Center, Vienna, Austria