29 May 2024 | Chunlong Wang, Hongwei Guo, Rongqiang Liu, Zongquan Deng, Yan Chen, Zhong You
This study presents a novel type of origami-inspired metamorphous structure composed of modular bistable units, each a rigid origami. The units are bistable due to the elasticity within the origami creases and the switching of mountain and valley crease lines. This results in a metamorphous structure capable of multistability, allowing it to switch among various configurations with programmable profiles. The concept was validated through potential energy analysis and experiments. The authors developed a robotic limb that can lift and grip objects through configuration changes and constructed a metamaterial whose properties can vary with the configuration. These examples demonstrate the versatility and potential applications of the multistable metamorphous structures. The origami units are scalable and modular, making them suitable for creating structures of all scales. The study also includes detailed fabrication and experimental validation of the bistable units, as well as the demonstration of the robotic limb and the programmable mechanical metamaterial.This study presents a novel type of origami-inspired metamorphous structure composed of modular bistable units, each a rigid origami. The units are bistable due to the elasticity within the origami creases and the switching of mountain and valley crease lines. This results in a metamorphous structure capable of multistability, allowing it to switch among various configurations with programmable profiles. The concept was validated through potential energy analysis and experiments. The authors developed a robotic limb that can lift and grip objects through configuration changes and constructed a metamaterial whose properties can vary with the configuration. These examples demonstrate the versatility and potential applications of the multistable metamorphous structures. The origami units are scalable and modular, making them suitable for creating structures of all scales. The study also includes detailed fabrication and experimental validation of the bistable units, as well as the demonstration of the robotic limb and the programmable mechanical metamaterial.