This paper proposes and experimentally validates four origami-inspired reconfigurable waveguide antenna designs, including the vertical folded waveguide antenna, the tilted waveguide antenna, the bellowed tilted waveguide antenna, and the fan-fold horn antenna. Aimed at overcoming the inherent limitations of rigid waveguide, those designs use mechanical deformation to control electromagnetic performance. By leveraging simple folding mechanisms, those proposed structures can turn antenna’s key parameters such as operating frequency, beam direction, beamwidth, gain and beam shape without relying on active components or complex beamforming circuitry. All prototypes were handcrafted as proof-of-concepts and successfully demonstrated their targeted functionality, showing the great potential in applications that require occasional reconfiguration rather than rapid, continuous adjustment. These results also reveal how origami techniques can unlock new design freedom for compact, reconfigurable antennas for future communication and sensing system.

Stray light from the sun is one of the most significant factors affecting image quality for the optical system of a spacecraft. This paper proposes a method to design a deployable supporting mechanism for the sunshield based on origami. Firstly, a new type of space mechanism with single-closed loop was proposed according to thick-panel origami, and its mobility was analysed by using the screw theory. In order to design a deployable structure with high controllability, the tetrahedral constraint was introduced to reduce the degree of freedom (DOF), and a corresponding deployable unit named tetrahedral deployable unit (TDU) was obtained. Secondly, the process to constructing a large space deployable mechanism with infinite number of units was explained based on the characteristics of motion and planar mosaic array, and kinematics analysis and folding ratio of supporting mechanism were conducted. A physical prototype was constructed to demonstrate the mobility and deployment of the supporting mechanism. Finally, based on the Lagrange method, a dynamic model of supporting mechanism was established, and the influence of the torsion spring parameters on the deployment process was analysed.

Shape-changing mechanical metamaterials have drawn the attention of researchers toward the development of continuous-range tunable frequency selective surfaces (FSSs). In this paper, a novel tunable FSS utilizing an origami-inspired “eggbox” structure is presented featuring four-degrees of freedom that can change the frequency response of two orthogonal linear polarizations. The centrosymmetric “eggbox” structure can be folded or rotated along two axes that lead to unprecedented reconfigurability compared to traditional Miura-Ori-based structures which have fewer degrees of control. The utilized cross-shaped dipole FSS element shows enhanced bandwidth, support for orthogonal linear polarization, and ease of fabrication. The prototype is fabricated using a low-cost fully additive inkjet printing process with silver nanoparticle conductive ink. The outcome of this study shows a 25% frequency tunable range over two polarization directions. The design can be an ideal spatial filtering candidate for advanced ultra-wideband terrestrial and space applications.

Origami, the ancient paper folding art has inspired the engineering equipment and design for decades. The basic concept of origami is very general, which leads to applications ranging from small scale to large scale. Recently, researchers are interested in being able to create self-folding structures. Such a structure enables kinematic manipulation by external forces or moments without folding and/or unfolding operations. This is a beneficial application for many fields including aerospace systems, robots, small devices and self-assembly systems. In this paper, the investigation and analyses of the previous literatures on the key driving force of the actuation structure, including the heat, light, electricity, gas and other actuation methods. The aims are to provide researchers and practitioners with the support to systematically understand the latest technologies in this important and evolving field, with inspiration and direction for follow-up.

Motivated by mathematical aspects of origami, Erik Demaine asked which points in the plane can be constructed by using lines whose angles are multiples of $\pi /n$ for some fixed $n$. This has been answered for some specific small values of $n$ including $n=3,4,5,6,8,10,12,24$. We answer this question for arbitrary $n$. The set of points is a subring of the complex plane $\mathbf {C}$, lying inside the cyclotomic field of $n$th roots of unity; the precise description of the ring depends on whether $n$is prime or composite. The techniques apply in more general situations, for example, infinite sets of angles, or more general constructions of subsets of the plane.