  This work introduces a concept of origami electronic membranes that leverages
the design and fabrication of flexible electronics and the mechanical behavior
of engineering origami to achieve unique multifunctional, shape-reconfigurable,
and adaptive membranes for mechanical and environmental sensing in benign and
harsh conditions. This paper presents the materials, design, and fabrication
methods for realizing six origami electronic membranes capable of reconfiguring
planar or three-dimensional shapes based on the modified flasher, Kresling,
Miura-ori, circular, letter, and Tachi-Miura origami patterns. These
origami-based, thin-film flexible electronics can obtain both expansion and
folding of their shapes, as well as transformation between different
geometries. The origami electronic membranes can achieve mechanical and
environmental sensing functions such as measuring motions, mechanical strains,
temperatures, UV light, and humidity. The results reported here demonstrate the
promise of combining engineering origami with flexible electronics to advance
the state-of-the-art in multifunctional foldable and deployable electronics and
systems.
