Park Hyunkyu, Jeong Yongrok, Kim Woojong, Choi Jungrak, Ahn Junseong, Jeong Jun-Ho, Park Inkyu, Kim Jung
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, Republic of Korea.
Nat Commun. 2025 Aug 5;16(1):6937. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-61838-3.
Shape transformation by folding showcases intricate geometrical change over dimension, that has long provided the embodied intelligence of autonomous systems capable of adapting to challenging environments and displaying functional versatilities. Hinge-face material assembly interfaced by shape-morphing mechanisms produced the associated means. However, the fixed hinge structure limits the accessible modes of folding configurations despite the existing capability of rectification in plant. Here we introduce a programming strategy of the two-dimensional fold of a robotic sheet into an unbounded set of hinge configurations in the field post-deployment, which is referred to as being field-programmable, driven by a densely distributed electro-thermo-responsive system design. An interconnected set of metallic resistors, incorporated into the thermo-responsive polymer film, performs the dual functionalities of a heater and thermoreceptor, selectively recruited to configure folds through electronic modulation of its electrical power distribution. Electronic layouts, computational algorithms, and closed-loop control schemes present an intuitive means of blending user intent in situ, yielding a servoed, swift, and robust fold-programming process. The system is intrinsically driven by embeddable electronics to enable autonomous system engineering, as potentiated by multi-purpose applications in grasping and locomotion.
通过折叠实现的形状变换展示了跨维度的复杂几何变化，长期以来，这种变化为能够适应具有挑战性环境并展现功能多样性的自主系统提供了内在智能。由形状变形机制连接的铰链面材料组件产生了相关手段。然而，尽管植物中存在矫正能力，但固定的铰链结构限制了折叠构型的可达模式。在此，我们引入一种编程策略，可将机器人薄片在部署后现场折叠成无界的铰链构型集，这被称为现场可编程，由密集分布的电热响应系统设计驱动。一组相互连接的金属电阻器集成到热响应聚合物薄膜中，执行加热器和热感受器的双重功能，通过对其电力分布进行电子调制，有选择地被用于构建折叠。电子布局、计算算法和闭环控制方案提供了一种直观的方式，可在现场融入用户意图，产生一个伺服、快速且稳健的折叠编程过程。该系统本质上由可嵌入电子器件驱动，以实现自主系统工程，在抓取和运动等多用途应用中得到了增强。
