Paper by Erik D. Demaine

Reference:

E. Hawkes, B. An, N. M. Benbernou, H. Tanaka, S. Kim, E. D. Demaine, D. Rus, and R. J. Wood, “Programmable matter by folding”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 107, number 28, 2010, pages 12441–12445.

BibTeX

@Article{Matter_PNAS,
  AUTHOR        = {E. Hawkes and B. An and N. M. Benbernou and H. Tanaka and
                   S. Kim and E. D. Demaine and D. Rus and R. J. Wood},
  TITLE         = {Programmable matter by folding},
  JOURNAL       = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
                   United States of America},
  journalurl    = {http://www.pnas.org/},
  VOLUME        = 107,
  NUMBER        = 28,
  YEAR          = 2010,
  PAGES         = {12441--12445},

  length        = {5 pages},
  withstudent   = 1,
  comments      = {This paper is also available from <A HREF="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0914069107">PNAS</A>.
<P>
See the <A HREF="video.mpg">supporting video</A> or <A HREF="https://youtu.be/Pfo233eN3HE">version with voiceover by Erik Demaine</A>.
<P>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pfo233eN3HE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>},
}

Abstract:

Programmable matter is a material whose properties can be programmed to achieve specific shapes or stiffnesses upon command. This concept requires constituent elements to interact and rearrange intelligently in order to meet the goal. This paper considers achieving programmable sheets that can form themselves in different shapes autonomously by folding. Past approaches to creating transforming machines have been limited by the small feature sizes, the large number of components, and the associated complexity of communication among the units. We seek to mitigate these difficulties through the unique concept of self-folding origami with universal crease patterns. This approach exploits a single sheet composed of interconnected triangular sections. The sheet is able to fold into a set of predetermined shapes using embedded actuation. To implement this self-folding origami concept, we have developed a scalable end-to-end planning and fabrication process. Given a set of desired objects, the system computes an optimized design for a single sheet and multiple controllers to achieve each of the desired objects. The material, called programmable matter by folding, is an example of a system capable of achieving multiple shapes for multiple functions.

Comments:

This paper is also available from PNAS.

See the supporting video or version with voiceover by Erik Demaine.

Length:

The paper is 5 pages.

Availability:

The paper is available in PDF (1394k).

See information on file formats.

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