Fig. 1: Field-programmable robotic folding sheet.

a Schematic illustration of a material architecture composed of the functional basis and the shape-morphing structure. The geometries of the microstructured components (SU-8 microrods and PDMS) are enlarged, for clarity. b Schematic illustration of a computational architecture that drives (i), senses (ii), and thereby closed-loop controls the temperature (T) distribution to program thermo-responsive folding. c Demonstration of field-programmability in folding, exemplified by folding region being translated (i), rotated (ii), and accumulated to achieve bending (iii), along with maneuvering fold directionality (iv). For c(ii), red line indicates the principal axis of fold. Scale bars, 15 mm. d–f The high degree of freedom in shape-programming process can display a complicated form of shape as a wavy pattern (d), multifold with diverse orientations (e), and rolling (f). Scale bars, 15 mm. g Investigations on the shape-programming process, using Finite element analysis (i), infrared camera measurement (ii), and RNI temperature estimation (iii). Scale bars, 15 mm.