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Fully soft bistable mechanisms have shown extensive applications ranging from soft robotics, wearable devices, and medical tools, to energy harvesting. However, the lack of design and fabrication methods that are easy and potentially…
Wind dispersal of seeds is one essential mechanisms for plants to proliferate and to invade new territories. In this paper we present a methodology that combines 3D-printing, a minimal theoretical model and experiments to determine the…
A wireless power transfer experiment suitable for senior physics undergraduates that operates between 3 and 4 MHz is described and demonstrated in detail. The apparatus consists of a pair of identical resonant coils that can be moved…
Current architectured cellular cushion materials rely mainly on damage and/or unpredictable collapse of their unit cells to absorb and dissipate energy under impact. This prevents shape recovery and produces undesirable force fluctuations…
We propose a novel computational framework for modeling and simulating origami structures. In this framework, bilinear solid-shell elements are employed to model the origami panels while crease folding is considered through the angle…
Air-dispersed sensor networks deployed from aerial robotic systems (e.g., UAVs) provide a low-cost approach to wide-area environmental monitoring. However, existing methods often rely on active actuators for mid-air shape or trajectory…
We report that metamaterial-inspired one-dimensional gratings (or metagratings) can be used to control nonpropagating diffraction orders as well as propagating ones. By accurate engineering of the near field, it becomes possible to satisfy…
We propose a low-pretension reflective kirigami film as a material for the reflective surfaces of large deployable space reflector antennas with an operating frequency around 10 GHz. The kirigami cut pattern is based on the well-known…
Origami-inspired structures have a rich design space, offering new opportunities for the development of deployable systems that undergo large and complex yet predictable shape transformations. There has been growing interest in such…
Recent research has shown that motile cells can adapt their mode of propulsion depending on the environment in which they find themselves. One mode is swimming by blebbing or other shape changes, and in this paper we analyze a class of…
Programmable folding of elastic sheets typically relies on predefined flexible creases or active materials-enabled hinges, which lack intrinsic bistability and limit reprogrammability within a single structure. Here, we present a…
An efficient way to introduce elastic energy that can bias an origami structure toward desired shapes is to allow curved tiles between the creases. The bending of the tiles supplies the energy and the tiles themselves may have additional…
Shape transformation, a key mechanism for organismal survival and adaptation, has gained importance across fields as diverse as electronics and medicine. However, designing and controlling microscale shape-shifting materials remains a…
We design an insect-sized rolling microrobot driven by continuously rotating wheels. It measures 18mm$\times$8mm$\times$8mm. There are 2 versions of the robot - a 96mg laser-powered one and a 130mg supercapacitor powered one. The robot can…
Optical antennas have been extensively employed to manipulate the photophysical properties of single photon emitters. Coupling between an emitter and a given resonant mode of an optical antenna depends mainly on three parameters: spectral…
The large-scale magnetic pattern of the quiet sun is dominated by the magnetic network. This network, created by photospheric magnetic fields swept into convective downflows, delineates the boundaries of large scale cells of overturning…
We study a rain-powered energy-harvesting device inspired by the natural impact of raindrops on leaves. In nature, a raindrop striking a leaf at high speed causes it to deform and vibrate. Inspired by this, our device uses an elastic beam…
This paper investigates the potential of near-field (NF) indoor communications in the FR2 frequency bands using fully dielectric structures to generate orbital angular momentum (OAM) waves. All-dielectric platforms based on distributions of…
Cellular traction forces are conventionally measured by tracking the displacement of beads or micropillars, an approach fundamentally limited by optical diffraction and the classical Euler-Bernoulli beam assumption, which is accurate only…
In this work, we discuss and numerically validate a strategy to attain reversible macroscopic changes in the wave propagation characteristics of cellular metamaterials with soft microstructures. The proposed cellular architecture is…