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| Image Source: Harvard, John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science |
"A house that could fit in a backpack or a wall that could become a window with the flick of a switch" are just two fantastical objects that could be made from a new self-folding metamaterial – according to its inventors at Harvard University in the US. Inspired by origami, the material will pop up and fold down on command, and can change both its shape and stiffness. Other possible applications for the new material include retractable roofs and medical implants.
The metamaterial was developed by a team led by Katia Bertoldi, James Weaver and Chuck Hoberman. It was inspired by "snapology", which is a type of origami that uses modular units of folded paper to create larger objects. In the new approach, each unit cell is an extruded rhombus that has inflatable air pockets along three of its edges (see video). When an air pocket is pressurized, it causes an edge of the unit cell to try to fold flat. By pressurizing different combinations of pockets, the shape of the unit cell itself can be changed.
Physics World: Origami-inspired metamaterial changes shape and stiffness on command
Hamish Johnston
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