Building mechanical memory boards using origami
Japanese paper-folding art creates switches that, when placed in a group
on a single board, can serve as a type of mechanical memory

Date:
August 25, 2020
Source:
American Institute of Physics
Summary:
Origami can be used to create mechanical, binary switches, and
researchers report the fabrication of such a paper device, using the
Kresling pattern, that can act as a mechanical switch. By putting
several together on a single platform, the investigators built a
functioning mechanical memory board. They found that oscillating
the platform up and down at a certain speed will cause it to flip,
or switch, between its two stable states.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The ancient Japanese art of paper folding, known as origami, can be used
to create mechanical, binary switches.


==========================================================================
In Applied Physics Letters, by AIP Publishing, researchers report the fabrication of such a paper device using a particular origami pattern
known as the Kresling pattern. This device can act as a mechanical switch.

By putting several of these together on a single platform, the
investigators built a functioning mechanical memory board.

Origami structures can be either rigid or nonrigid. For the first type,
only the creases between panels of paper can deform, but the panels stay
fixed. In nonrigid origami, however, the panels themselves can deform.

The Kresling pattern is an example of nonrigid origami. Folding a piece
of paper using this pattern generates a bellowslike structure that can
flip between one orientation and another. The bellows act as a type
of spring and can be controlled by vibrating a platform that holds the
bellows. This creates a switch, which the investigators refer to as a Kresling-inspired mechanical switch, or KIMS.

The researchers found that oscillating a platform holding the KIMS up
and down at a certain speed will cause it to flip, or switch, between
its two stable states. They used an electrodynamic shaker to provide
controlled movements of the base and monitored the upper surface of the
KIMS using a laser. In this way, they were able to map out and analyze
the basic physics that underlies the switching behavior.

"We used the Kresling origami pattern to also develop a cluster of
mechanical binary switches," author Ravindra Masana said. "These can be
forced to transition between two different static states using a single controlled input in the form of a harmonic excitation applied at the
base of the switch." The group first considered a 2-bit memory board
created by placing two KIMS units on a single platform. Because each
KIMS bit has two stable states, four distinct states identified as S00,
S01, S10 and S11 can be obtained.

Oscillations of the platform will cause switching between these four
stable states. This proof of concept with just two bits could be extended
to multiple KIMS units, creating a type of mechanical memory.

"Such switches can be miniaturized," said Mohammed Daqaq, one of the
authors and the director of the Laboratory of Applied Nonlinear Dynamics
at NYU Abu Dhabi. "Instead of using a bulky electrodynamic shaker
for actuation, the memory board can then be actuated using scalable piezoelectric and graphene actuators." Miniaturized origami memory
boards should have wide applicability and hold great promise for future
device development.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by American_Institute_of_Physics. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. R. Masana, S. Khazaaleh, H. Alhussein, R. S. Crespo, M. F. Daqaq. An
origami-inspired dynamically actuated binary switch. Applied
Physics Letters, 2020; 117 (8): 081901 DOI: 10.1063/5.0010236 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200825115528.htm

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