Inflatable Kirigami Structures*

Kirigami inspired metamaterials have shown increasing potential in science and engineering due to their ability to achieve large deformations and morphology changes. Here, by embedding a thin kirigami shell into a soft silicon rubber, we present a novel, programmable and inflatable kirigami structure that can deform into a desired shape or trajectory at a given pressure. Moreover, we can easily assemble different actuators together to obtain very complex deformations via a modular design. Sequencing can also be achieved by introducing pressure drops in between the different modules, and feeding a pressure profile as a single input to the actuators. This could potentially benefit future designs for climbing robots and robotic arms, where disposing of multiple outputs given a single input is often necessary. Our study provides a simple, yet powerful strategy to design unprecedented kirigami balloons that will enrich the functionalities of inflatable structures.