Inverse design of self-folding 3D shells

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel inverse design method for self-folding 3D shells that incorporates bond specificity and uses Boolean satisfiability to improve folding yield and enable shape-shifting structures.

Contribution

It introduces a new design dimension—bond specificity—and formulates the inverse design as a Boolean satisfiability problem, enhancing folding success and enabling adaptable structures.

Findings

Boolean satisfiability effectively derives folding solutions.

Bond specificity improves folding yield.

Shape-shifting nets can be designed for multiple target shapes.

Abstract

Self-folding is an emerging paradigm for the inverse design of three-dimensional structures. While most efforts have concentrated on the shape of the net, our approach introduces a new design dimension-bond specificity between the edges. We transform this design process into a Boolean Satisfiability problem to derive solutions for various target structures. This method significantly enhances the yield of the folding process. Furthermore, by linearly combining independent solutions, we achieve designs for shape-shifting nets wherein the dominant structure evolves with varying external conditions. This approach is demonstrated through coarse-grained simulations on two examples of triangular and square nets capable of folding into multiple target shapes.