Origami has served as the inspiration for a number of engineered systems. In most cases, they require nonpaper materials where material thickness is non-negligible. Foldable mechanisms based on origami-like forms present special challenges for preserving kinematics and assuring non-self-intersection when the thickness of the panels must be accommodated. Several design approaches for constructing thick origami mechanisms by beginning with a zero-thickness origami pattern and transforming it into a rigidly foldable mechanism with thick panels are reviewed. The review includes existing approaches and introduces new hybrid approaches. The approaches are compared and contrasted and their manufacturability analyzed.

We introduce a metamaterial-based self-deployable system with a rotational periodicity. As a demonstration, we propose an autonomous solar panel array that is programmed to self-deploy in response to changes in the surrounding temperature. We achieve shape reconfiguration and structural stability by exploiting the physical properties in the constituting material and the architecture of the wedge-shaped unit cell. The unit cell consists of one arm of the elastic “flasher” origami and a pair of scissor mechanisms. First, kinematic analysis shows the difference between the theoretical behavior and behavior considering the physical dimensions. This is used to optimize the expansion ratio. Second, the deployment mechanics are enabled through the shape-memory effect inherent in the underlying polymer. A viscoelastic constitutive model is constructed to accurately predict the self-expanding behavior. Lastly, the collapsing and deployment dynamics are discussed. Bifurcation is observed during folding, leading to two different end states, a disk or a cone. By investigating the energy landscape of the system, an apparatus is introduced to enable the disk-shaped folding. A two-stage expansion is observed during deployment. The system first rotates and then expands radially. The resulting system is three-dimensionally (3D) printed, achieves an expansion ratio of 1000% in under 40 s, and shows excellent agreement with simulation prediction both in the collapsed and expanded configurations.

We present the design for a family of deployable structures based on the origami flasher, which are rigidly foldable, i.e., foldable with revolute joints at the creases and planar rigid faces. By appropriate choice of sector angles and introduction of a cut, a single degree-of-freedom (DOF) mechanism is obtained. These structures may be used to realize highly compact deployable mechanisms.

The field of foldable and physically reconfigurable antennas has recently attracted significant interest from diverse scientific communities, including researchers on antennas, material science, mechanical engineering and numerical modeling. Deployable, packable and multifunctional systems are very important for many applications, including satellite communications, UAVs, CubeSats as well as airborne and spaceborne communication systems. Foldable and physically reconfigurable antennas, particularly origami-based antennas, can provide new capabilities for the aforementioned applications. In this work, we present emerging research on foldable and physically reconfigurable antennas. Such antennas morph their shape to adapt and reconfigure their EM performance (e.g., frequency of operation, bandwidth, polarization, beamwidth, etc.). Also, origami antennas provide ultra-compact stowage, easy deployment, reduced weight, enhanced EM performance and multifunctional utility.

Action origami is a field of origami dealing with models that are folded so that in their final, deployed state they exhibit motion. Hundreds of action origami models exist, many of which use complicated kinematics to achieve motion in their deployed state. A better understanding of the mechanisms used to create motion in action origami could be a foundation for developing a new source of concepts for deployable, movable engineering solutions. This brief presents an approach for evaluating and classifying the mechanisms that enable action origami motion. Approximately 130 action origami models are investigated. Although disguised with artistic elements, it is found that most action origami models are based on a few fundamental mechanisms. A classification scheme is proposed, and an unexplored class of action origami is identified as an area for future origami art.

We present a design technique for generating rigidly foldable quadrilateral meshes (RFQMs), taking as input four arrays of direction angles and fold angles for horizontal and vertical folds. By starting with angles, rather than vertex coordinates, and enforcing the fold-angle multiplier condition at each vertex, it is possible to achieve arbitrarily large and complex panel arrays that flex from unfolded to flatly folded with a single degree-of-freedom (DOF). Furthermore, the design technique is computationally simple, reducing for some cases to a simple linear-programming problem. The resulting mechanisms have applications in architectural facades, furniture design, and more.