Capsule endoscopy has gained a lot of attention
in the medical field in the recent past as an effective way of
investigating unusual symptoms experienced in places such as
esophagus, stomach, small intestine and colon. However, motion
control of the capsule endoscope is challenging and often requires
a power source and miniature actuators. To address these issues,
we present a novel origami inspired structure as an attachment
to the capsule endoscope. The proposed origami structure utilizes
the wave generated by peristalsis of the intestine to move it
forward and backward. When the origami structure is folded, the
capsule endoscope is propelled forward by intestinal peristalsis.
When the origami structure is unfolded, the intestinal peristalsis
squeezes the origami structure to drive the capsule endoscope to
move in the opposite direction. Therefore, folding and unfolding
of the proposed origami structure would allow to control the
movement direction of the capsule endoscope. In this paper, we
present the design, simulations and experimental validation of
the proposed origami structure.