26 July 2024 | Yanbin Li, Antonio Di Lallo, Junxi Zhu, Yinding Chi, Hao Su, Jie Yin
The paper presents a novel approach to creating versatile and shape-morphing origami-based metastructures inspired by thick origami and hierarchical natural structures. The authors develop a hierarchical construction method using polyhedrons to create a wide range of compact origami metastructures. These structures can autonomously adapt to over 10,000 architectural configurations with fewer than 3 actuation degrees of freedom and simple transition kinematics. The hierarchical architecture of spatial closed-loop mechanisms reduces the number of active degrees of freedom required for shape transformation, making the structures highly efficient and easy to control. The authors demonstrate the potential applications of these transformable hierarchical structures in various fields, including autonomous robotic transformers capable of multi-gait locomotion, rapidly self-deployable and self-reconfigurable architecture, and multi-task reconfigurable space robots and habitats. The hierarchical design strategy combines structural hierarchy with overconstrained looped kinematic mechanisms, enabling rich shape-morphing capabilities with simple control and actuation. The paper also discusses the limitations and future research directions, highlighting the potential for further exploration in morphing matter and its applications in robotics, architecture, and space exploration.The paper presents a novel approach to creating versatile and shape-morphing origami-based metastructures inspired by thick origami and hierarchical natural structures. The authors develop a hierarchical construction method using polyhedrons to create a wide range of compact origami metastructures. These structures can autonomously adapt to over 10,000 architectural configurations with fewer than 3 actuation degrees of freedom and simple transition kinematics. The hierarchical architecture of spatial closed-loop mechanisms reduces the number of active degrees of freedom required for shape transformation, making the structures highly efficient and easy to control. The authors demonstrate the potential applications of these transformable hierarchical structures in various fields, including autonomous robotic transformers capable of multi-gait locomotion, rapidly self-deployable and self-reconfigurable architecture, and multi-task reconfigurable space robots and habitats. The hierarchical design strategy combines structural hierarchy with overconstrained looped kinematic mechanisms, enabling rich shape-morphing capabilities with simple control and actuation. The paper also discusses the limitations and future research directions, highlighting the potential for further exploration in morphing matter and its applications in robotics, architecture, and space exploration.