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Updated: Mar 2, 2026
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Origami Inspired Self-assembly of Patterned and Reconfigurable Particles
Published on: February 4, 2013
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Self-folding origami at any energy scale.
Matthew B Pinson1, Menachem Stern1, Alexandra Carruthers Ferrero1,2
1Physics and the James Franck Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA.
Nature Communications
|May 19, 2017
Summary
Researchers explored crease patterns in origami, uncovering statistical insights into folding energy and identifying new self-folding designs beyond the Miura-Ori pattern. This advances meta-materials and programmable matter research.
Area of Science:
- Physics
- Materials Science
- Mathematics
Background:
- Programmable stiff sheets with low-energy folding are crucial for origami and meta-materials.
- Current research focuses on extreme crease patterns: zero-energy Miura-Ori and high-energy random patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically explore the full spectrum of crease patterns based on folding energy.
- To uncover statistical properties and new design principles in origami.
Main Methods:
- Developed a physical approach to analyze crease patterns across a range of folding energies.
- Investigated the statistical distribution of crease patterns and their associated energies.
Main Results:
- Uncovered statistical results, including the entropy of crease patterns for a given folding energy.
- Identified three distinct classes of Mountain-Valley choices with significantly different typical folding energies.
Conclusions:
- This work provides a systematic method to explore crease patterns beyond traditional zero-energy or high-energy extremes.
- Opens avenues for novel, experimentally relevant self-folding origami designs not dependent on Miura-Ori, Kawasaki conditions, or specific symmetries.
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