Pluripotent Magnetically Actuated Origami

Recently we showed that it is possible to fold a magnetically patterned sheet into a desired target shape. Here, we attempt to embed multiple magnetically actuated folding patterns into a single sheet. Our idea is that if the folding patterns are sufficiently different so that they do not share creases, it is possible to design pluripotent sheets with multiple target shapes. To allow both target structures to be controllably accessed, we pattern the facets with magnetic dipoles. The configuration of these magnets is chosen such that, for two specific applied magnetic fields, the resulting torques correspond as closely as possible to the folding of the two designed patterns. Thus by applying a field in the correct direction, we are able to determine which pattern is chosen. Currently we are working on devices that are centimeters in scale. Because magnetically actuated origami design principles are scale invariant, however, such strategies should easily extend to the microscale. As such, this strategy may represent an important step towards creating magnetically responsive micro- and nanoscale pluripotent origami sheets for use in optical metamaterials, implantable medical devices, and robotic actuation.