Automaton Origami Brings Motion to the Classic Papercraft

The term “papercraft” encompasses many different paper-based hobbies, but the oldest and most well-known is almost certainly origami. Origami creations are generally just decorative, and their real purpose is usually the calming effect of the paper-folding itself. True origami uses only folds, and cutting, gluing, and other methods of modifying the paper are discouraged. But to bring an origami creation to life, some sacrifices have to be made, which is why Ryan Preston’s Automaton Origami uses a servo for movement.

Preston had been wanting to learn how to use use motors with an Arduino for a while, and decided a good way to get started would be to bring movement into origami. In this case, that origami is the classic crane design that is so popular among enthusiasts. Preston’s design uses a single small hobby servo motor to make the crane’s wings flap. In his tutorial, he explains how he was able to do that.

The first step was to fold the origami crane, which follows the standard technique. That was then attached to a small 3D-printed base. Inside that base is an Adafruit ItsyBitsy 32u4 microcontroller development board and the hobby servo motor. The arm of the servo motor is connected to the origami crane’s wings with fishing line. Using the Arduino IDE, Preston programmed the ItsyBitsy to simply move the servo’s arm back and forth. The result is a classic origami crane that has been brought to life.