Autonomous Deployment of a Solar Panel Using Elastic Origami and Distributed Shape-Memory-Polymer Actuators

Large-scale deployable solar panels are crucial for certain engineering applications. However, a complex network of actuators and power supplies are usually required to achieve deployment, and can be prone to failure. The single-degree-of-freedom design proposed here embeds shape-memory polymers within an elastic origami substrate, to achieve self-deployment through temperature change. The unexpected bifurcation during folding is studied by examining strain energy as a function of dihedral angle. By optimizing the geometry, tenfold self-deployment is achieved in under one minute. The results could benefit space exploration, as well as solar power generation in inaccessible areas.