A three-dimensional actuated origami-inspired transformable metamaterial with multiple degrees of freedom
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 11 March 2016
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Nature Communications
- Vol. 7 (1), 10929
- https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10929
Abstract
Reconfigurable devices, whose shape can be drastically altered, are central to expandable shelters, deployable space structures, reversible encapsulation systems and medical tools and robots. All these applications require structures whose shape can be actively controlled, both for deployment and to conform to the surrounding environment. While most current reconfigurable designs are application specific, here we present a mechanical metamaterial with tunable shape, volume and stiffness. Our approach exploits a simple modular origami-like design consisting of rigid faces and hinges, which are connected to form a periodic structure consisting of extruded cubes. We show both analytically and experimentally that the transformable metamaterial has three degrees of freedom, which can be actively deformed into numerous specific shapes through embedded actuation. The proposed metamaterial can be used to realize transformable structures with arbitrary architectures, highlighting a robust strategy for the design of reconfigurable devices over a wide range of length scales.Keywords
This publication has 31 references indexed in Scilit:
- New Collaboration on Modular Origami and LEDPublished by Informa UK Limited ,2016
- Cell Origami: Self-Folding of Three-Dimensional Cell-Laden Microstructures Driven by Cell Traction ForcePLOS ONE, 2012
- Nanoscale Origami for 3D OpticsSmall, 2011
- Programmable matter by foldingProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010
- Concepts and Modeling of a Tessellated Molecule SurfacePublished by Informa UK Limited ,2009
- Tetherless thermobiochemically actuated microgrippersProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009
- Self-deployable origami stent grafts as a biomedical application of Ni-rich TiNi shape memory alloy foilMaterials Science and Engineering: A, 2006
- Self-Assembly at All ScalesScience, 2002
- Magnetic actuation of hinged microstructuresJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 1999
- Magnetically actuated, addressable microstructuresJournal of Microelectromechanical Systems, 1997