This project is a work in progress exploring the use of distributed actuation within a metamaterial system, attempting to achieve an adaptive reconfigurable structure with multiple stable states. The use of materials which behave according to their structure as opposed to their inherent properties allows us to have control over the material system, the properties and behavior of which can be controlled and manipulated by making minor alterations in the material’s design, resulting in an optimized mechanical behavior of the metamaterial. To best follow this approach, we utilize a component-based system able to propagate deformation from the actuation of a single component to the entire system, eliminating the need of multiple actuators, aiming towards a more efficient responsive structure. We apply in this system an active bending principle of rigid bodies with shifted elastic joints found in “KinetiX”, a research project describing a group of auxetic-inspired material structures that can transform into various shapes upon compression. ¹
These types of reconfigurable surfaces can be used in various applications from temporary kinetic structures to shape changing form works for lightweight fiber structures. We hope to achieve an application at this scale by insuring the structural stability of the actuated surface which can only be achieved by the use of a rigid lightweight material at component scale.
RESEARCHERS: Ankita BOB, Anotonis NIKITARAS, Yara TAYOUN
INSTITUTE: IAAC, BARCELONA
¹ J. Ou et al., KinetiX - designing auxetic-inspired deformable material structures, Computers & Graphics (2018),https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cag.2018.06.003
