Fig. 1: Fabrication and actuation principles of origami soft actuators with dielectric elastomers.

a Schematic diagram of the origami-inspired soft robots. b Flow chart of the fabrication process for the soft actuator. After release, an actuator with a certain initial bending angle was obtained. c Schematic diagram of the actuation principle and the expanded layered structure of the soft actuator with a dielectric layer (VHB4910), a reinforcement layer (PET film with a thickness of 0.25 mm), and a flexible substrate (PET film with a thickness of 0.1 mm). d Relationship between the semicircular radius of the actuation region with the dielectric layer and the bending angle. e Optical images of actuators with different semicircular radii in the actuation region with different bending angles