McGill University engineers have developed ultra-thin materials that can move, fold, and reshape themselves, opening new possibilities for soft robotics and adaptive devices.
The work uses graphene oxide films designed to behave like animated origami, allowing flat sheets to transform into structures that walk, twist, flip, and sense motion.
The research was jointly led by Hamid Akbarzadeh from McGill’s Department of Bioresource Engineering and Marta Cerruti from the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering.
“Graphene oxide films are highly promising for next-generation soft robots and adaptive actuators, yet their real-world deployment remains limited because they are brittle, challenging to manufacture at scale and unable to generate complex or programmable motion,” said Cerruti.
To address this, the team developed graphene oxide films that are both strong and flexible.
These paper-like sheets can be folded into origami-inspired shapes without cracking, while still maintaining mechanical stability.
This makes them suitable for soft robots that must operate safely around humans without rigid components or heavy motors.
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