Fig. 7.

Local variations in coupling origami tubes. Different stages of deployment are shown with approximate percentage of extension. (A) Zipper coupling of a reconfigurable tube with a polygonal cross section. The six-sided polygonal tube has two possible shapes (I and II). (B) Computer visualization of zipper tubes from thick material (thick origami). (C) Actuator system from zipper coupling of two tubes of different length. The edges of the long tube are restrained, but squeezing can occur on the uncoupled sections, allowing the system to fold. For details see Table S1.