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arXiv · 2610.23813

MOSS: Multimodal Origami Swamp Robot System

T. Lan·A. Babgei·L. Romanello·M. Kovac·S. F. Armanini
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Abstract

Robotic systems for environmental monitoring and ecological surveying in wetlands and swamps must operate across diverse terrestrial and aquatic conditions. Conventional fixed-geometry wheels cannot adapt their contact geometry to these varying conditions. This work presents MOSS (Multimodal Origami Swamp Robot System), a compact amphibious robotic platform with 3D-printed origami wheels. The compact crank mechanism switches the wheel between contracted and expanded configurations, changing its width, body diameter, and fin orientation simultaneously. The contracted configuration is better suited to efficient rolling on firmer ground, whereas the expanded configuration provides greater contact and terrain engagement on softer surfaces. MOSS was evaluated on soil, sand, mud with varying water content, and water, in addition to in-motion morphing and terrestrial-aquatic transition tests. The more energy-efficient wheel configuration depended on terrain. The contracted configuration achieved a lower cost of transport on firmer soil and mud, whereas the expanded configuration performed better on wetter mud, sand, and water, reducing the cost of transport by up to 29%. Expanded wheels also reduced slip in wet mud and reduced both slip and hub sinkage in sand. MOSS successfully completed configuration changes in $1.95 \pm 0.11$ s and demonstrated continuous locomotion across soil-mud-water transitions. Outdoor trials further demonstrated operation across natural deformable terrain and water. These results show that adaptive wheel geometry provides terrain-dependent locomotion benefits and enables a single compact platform to traverse substantially different terrestrial and aquatic conditions.

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T. Lan, A. Babgei, L. Romanello, M. Kovac, S. F. Armanini. 2026-10-16. MOSS: Multimodal Origami Swamp Robot System. https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.23813

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