Scientists have now replicated that technique to produce self-folding paper structures. Like plants, paper is made up mostly of cellulose fibers. In both cases, when those fibers absorb water, they ...

In typical rollable structures, the cross-section is flat in the storage phase so that it can wrap smoothly around a central hub, and transforms into a corrugated cross-section in the deployed phase ...

A study published in Nature Communications presents a way to create deployable structures that transform from compact folded states into expansive configurations with perfectly smooth surfaces.

The main mechanism behind plant movement is water absorption and release; the cellulose present in plant tissues draws water in and expands, and the underlying arrangement of cellulose fibers guides ...