Deploying complex shapes using kirigami

Kirigami is now known to be a relevant method to give stretching in thin sheets.

This in turn can be used to program the deployment into 3D surfaces when a force is applied perpendicularly to its plane.

Is it possible to design specific cut pattern corresponding to the deployment of a specific target 3D shape when the kirigami is deployed?

We show theoretically and confirm experimentally that this is possible for axisymmetric shapes. We then extend this result to more complex (less symmetric) shapes.

The programming of deployment of thin sheet out of simple cuts is a low-tech and effective strategy to shape-morphing structures that could be used at many scales.