Reconfigurable Inflatables Through Controlled Surface Crumpling

Inflatable structures offer remarkable versatility due to their compact storage and rapid deployment, making them ideal for lightweight, quickly assembled, and deployable applications. These structures are typically made from membranes that are nearly inextensible yet highly flexible. Upon inflation, the membranes avoid energy-intensive stretching and instead deform primarily through bending, which results in the formation of localized surface crumples. While previous studies have largely focused on understanding the mechanics of crumple formation, here we take a different approach: we investigate how these surface crumples - traditionally viewed as a failure mode - can be harnessed to enable functionality. Specifically, we show how they can be used to design reconfigurable structures across scales and to develop advanced impact-mitigation systems.