A Neat Package

Deployable structures are used for booms, solar arrays, and antennae on spacecraft; for portable shelters and retractable roofs; and for kinetic exhibition displays. These types of structures must be designed so that they can be neatly packaged and made to automatically unfurl. In the past, these technologies have been developed by trial and error and for specific applications, but the current growing demand for deployable structures requires a new approach.

Sergio Pellegrino demonstrating a structure supporting aluminised mylar, folded in complex, computer generated patterns.