Research Report: electronics integration and wheelchair mounting for the Robogami arm.

Sep 25, 2026

Zoe Corlouer

Mechanical engineering student, EPFL

Preview

Over the past few months at EPFL's BIOROB laboratory, I've been working on Robogami, a foldable, origami-inspired robotic arm designed to help wheelchair users regain independence in everyday tasks like picking objects up off the floor. My part of the project focused on making the "invisible" half of the system work: the electronics enclosure, the pump housing for the gripper, and the interface that mounts everything onto the wheelchair itself. It has truly been a hands-on lesson in engineering trade-offs. This report walks through that design journey, the dead ends included, and where the project stands today.

Zoe Corlouer

Mechanical engineering student, EPFL

Hi ;) I'm from Bordeaux, a city I love for its food and its ocean. The Atlantic is right around the corner, and nothing beats swimming straight into the waves! Growing up surrounded by that gastronomic culture, I fell in love with cooking as a child, and more broadly with visual arts (really into cinema right now) and anything that lets me work with my hands. But what really drives me is having an impact. I care deeply about fighting climate change, and I want to help build sustainable engineering and technology that's accessible to everyone and works to reduce inequalities in human development. Feel free to reach out !