Self-Folding Origami Structures Use Light That Changes Shape Of Polymer

Origami is an old Japanese art of folding paper into various decorative shapes, and requires a certain amount of nimbleness of the fingers. But a new method developed by researchers uses layers of a thin polymer that fold themselves into origami structures under the effect of light. The self-folding origami technique was developed by researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and Peking University in China, who published a paper on the subject Friday in the journal Science Advances. And the possible applications of the technique aren't just decorative -- it can find uses in a range of fields, including "soft robots, microelectronics, soft actuators, mechanical metamaterials and biomedical devices," according to the researchers. The paper, titled "Origami by frontal photopolymerization," explains the method.