Learning to self-fold at a bifurcation

Abstract

Disordered mechanical systems can deform along a network of pathways that branch and recombine at special configurations called bifurcation points. Multiple pathways are accessible from these bifurcation points; consequently, computer-aided design algorithms have been sought to achieve a specific structure of pathways at bifurcations by rationally designing the geometry and material properties of these systems. Here, we explore an alternative physical training framework in which the topology of folding pathways in a disordered sheet is changed in a desired manner due to changes in crease stiffnesses induced by prior folding. We study the quality and robustness of such training for different `learning rules', that is, different quantitative ways in which local strain changes the local folding stiffness. We experimentally demonstrate these ideas using sheets with epoxy-filled creases whose stiffnesses change due to folding before the epoxy sets. Our work shows how specific forms of plasticity in materials enable them to learn non-linear behaviors through their prior deformation history in a robust manner.