Abstract
In recent years, smart cushioning materials based on origami structures have emerged. In this study, we have developed a wireless smart cushioning material, the self-folded origami honeycomb device (SHD), utilising an origami honeycomb structure with an integrated Inductor-Capacitor (LC) passive wireless sensor. SHD can be fabricated with paper and copper tape, without the need for complex or costly manufacturing processes. Optimisation of the electrode design and placement, based on the compression behaviour of the origami honeycomb structure, reduced compression variation by 29.2%, enhancing deformation reproducibility and establishing SHD’s sensing mechanism. Finite element method (FEM) software confirmed that SHD operates as intended. Finally, we successfully measured the weight of loaded cargo and detected damage from the fallen object wirelessly. Our developed SHD is expected to contribute to logistics improvement and enhanced transport traceability, acting as a pioneering example of wireless smart cushioning materials.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available because they are part of an ongoing study and further analyses are planned, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research was partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP22K14226, Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer Program through Target-driven R&D (A-STEP) from the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Grant Numbers JPMJTM20CK, Fuji Seal Foundation, and International Research Center for Green Electronics. We are grateful to Prof. Tadashi Maeda for his invaluable advice on constructing the electrical measurement setup.
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H.M. and H.S. conceived the idea and designed the research. H.M. designed the experiments, conducted the experiments and analyses under the guidance of D.N., S.M. and H.S. H.M. and H.S. were responsible for writing the manuscript. O.S. and S.M. worked on and revised the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and approved the manuscript.
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Minamide, H., Naritomi, D., Okamoto, S. et al. Smart cushioning device integrating self-folding origami honeycomb structure and inductor-capacitor passive wireless sensor. npj Flex Electron (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00527-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00527-z
