Robotics researchers often turn to the Japanese paper folding art of origami for inspiration, and with some very impressive results. Scientists working in the field at the University of Michigan have ...

Right now, a building might be considered “smart” if it can autonomously adjust its internal systems, like the lighting or, say, the air conditioning above a particular employee’s desk. But the smart ...

3D micro-/nanofabrication holds the key to build a large variety of micro-/nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems with unique properties that do not manifest in their 2D planar ...

Most materials – from rubber bands to steel beams – thin out as they are stretched, but engineers can use origami’s interlocking ridges and precise folds to reverse this tendency and build devices ...

“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 – ...

A new family of origami shapes that unfold like flower petals could be used to design more effective structures in space, like telescopes or solar panels. Origami structures, based on the Japanese ...

Origami principles can unlock the potential of the smallest robots, enhancing speed, agility and control in machines no more than a centimeter in size. Origami principles can unlock the potential of ...

DNA origami and beyond. A) DNA octahedron that inspired development of DNA origami. B) 2D DNA origami (smiley face serves as an example). C) Hollow 3D DNA origami shapes that are folded from 2D ...

Engineers use techniques from Origami to design spacecraft components, medical robots and antenna arrays. Researchers have developed a system to explain the rules that govern some of these key ...