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Origami Meta Materials

Origami is widely known as the art of paper folding.  In the last 20 years, scientists, engineers, and mathematicians have shown a steady and increasing interest in the field.  This melting pot of art and science has been productive for both sides.  On one hand, quantitative and technological advances have expanded the artistic repertoire and led to software (likeFreeform origami and Treemaker) that assists in designing ultra-realistic fold patterns.  On the other, origami has stimulated technological advances such as efficient methods forpacking solar panels and rapid airbag deployment.
Drawing on the art of origami to inspire mechanical metamaterials relies on the ability to extract useful design principles from crease patterns.  One particularly interesting pattern is the square twist.  Not ony is it tessellatable, but the unit highlighted below has some surprsing properties.