多くの甲虫の後翅に見られる特徴的な折り畳みパターンを折紙の幾何学によって解析し、人工の展開翼の折線設計法を提案する。甲虫の後翅は飛行時には高速の羽ばたきに耐えうる剛性、強度を有するだけでなく、必要に応じて一瞬で変形する究極の可変構造である。ここから学ぶことで、ロボットや人工衛星用アンテナからミクロな医療機器、傘や扇子などの日用品まで、可変機構を持つ製品の先進的なデザインへの幅広い応用が期待される。

This study focuses on the characteristic wing folding pattern found in many species of beetles from the point of view of origami geometry, and proposed a procedure to design a crease pattern for artificial deployable wings. Foldable hindwings in insects are the ultimate morphing structures and have large potential for engineering applications, because they have sufficient strength and stiffness to tolerate high-frequency wing beating in the flight position, while they can transform instantly depending on the situation. Learning from them provides hints for the innovative design of a wide range of morphing structures, from robots and space-deployable structures to microscopic medical instruments to articles for daily use like umbrellas and fans.

Kazuya Saito, Tomohiro Tachi, Ryuma Niiyama, Yoshihiro Kawahara

Contact: ksaito@akg.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp