Work

Reconfigurable polyhedral mechanisms using scissor-like elements with cantellation transformation between dual geometries

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Deployable polyhedron mechanisms (DPMs) have garnered significant interest for their potential applications in fields such as architecture, aerospace, and robotics, where reconfigurable and space-efficient structures are crucial. This paper presents a tangential design method for DPMs using scissor-like elements (SLEs). By positioning scissor units along the edges of an equilateral polyhedron in a tangential manner to its midsphere, the method enables these mechanisms to transform between a polyhedron and its dual, following the cantellation operation. Using screw theory, the kinematic properties of these mechanisms are analyzed, revealing that they exhibit 1-degree of freedom (DOF) under normal conditions and gain additional DOFs at multifurcation points, allowing for reconfigurable motion modes. Physical models based on a range of geometries, including some of Platonic, Archimedean, Johnson, and Catalan solids, validate the method's feasibility. Observations indicate that this method is only applicable to equilateral supporting polyhedra. The transformation ability and diverse motion modes observed in these mechanisms demonstrate the potential of this approach for innovative applications in architecture, aerospace, and robotics.

Source: Mechanism and Machine Theory

DOI: 10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2025.106187

Authors: Yuan Liao, Gökhan Kiper, Sudarshan Krishnan

Institutions: Shandong University, Izmir Institute of Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Language: English

Topic: Structural Analysis and Optimization

Subfield: Civil and Structural Engineering

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,060

Funders: University of Tennessee, Shandong University