Thank you for your attention and support over the past year!
As we celebrate this Spring Festival, we extend our heartfelt gratitude and best wishes to you and your family for the coming year:
Spur your horse forward, galloping toward mountains and seas!
May the spirit of dragon and horse keep you forever vigorous!
May your family rejoice in harmony, and peace accompany you!

（From：Thousands of customers）

        Over the past year, guided by dream, youth, responsibility, exploration, and innovation, we have galloped forward together, harvesting countless memorable moments. Now, let us look back on the fruitful achievements of 2025 and stride together toward the boundless wilderness of the future!

Dream
In the laboratory, guided by ideals, we come together
to embark on a journey of exploration.

Yihan Ma, Master student

Huaijun Mu, Master student

Weizhi Xu, Master student

Xiaochen Yang, Doctor Acm Research(shanghai), inc.

Jingsong Wei, Master Beijing NAURA Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd.

Yuxing Song, Master Shanghai Yuliangsheng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd

Can Lu, Master AECC Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials (BIAM)

Houhua Chen, Master Zhengzhou Yutong Group Co., Ltd.

        Research is a long journey of exploration, and the warmth of a team grows from the moments when we strive forward together and pause to rest side by side. All these scattered sparks of light make this place more than just a laboratory—it is a family where we support one another and grow together.

A photo of team building activity, 2025.

Youth
The youth of the laboratory is embodied by a group of passionate,
dream-driven researchers, full of energy and ambition.

1. Kaili Xi and Chuhan Xu were awarded the China National Scholarship.
         In the 2025 China National Scholarship selection, Ph.D. student Kaili Xi and master's student Chuhan Xu from the Motion Structure Laboratory, earned the awards due to their exceptional research capabilities, outstanding academic achievements, and all-round developments. This recognition is not only a result of their hard work but also a reflection of the collaborative spirit within the laboratory. Congratulations to them!

2. Tianshu Wang and Wenli Liu won the 3^rd space universities cubeSat challenge china region first prize

3. Mengyue Li received the graduate academic newcomer award at CMMC 2025

Responsibility
Responsibility is not just about advancing academia, but also a commitment to society and its practical needs.

1. Tencent Video Documentary: She deleted that vertex to solve origami
        The documentary series All Big Questions is co-produced by Tencent Sustainable Social Value Organization, the New Cornerstone Science Foundation and Tencent Video. Episode 2 spotlights Professor Yan Chen’s work in origami engineering. The film follows her entry into the field, her solution to the long-standing "thick-panel origami" problem, and the plethora of cutting-edge discoveries she has since pursued—starting from a single fold.

2. Tencent Penguin Science Communication Video Contest: Space-Age Cutting-Edge Tech—Let Me Fold That Solar Panel!
         In the “Penguin Science Communication” video contest jointly launched by Tencent SSV (Sustainable Social Value Organization), Tencent News, and China Science Communication, the entry “Space-Age Cutting-Edge Tech—Let Me Fold That Solar Panel!”, co-created by Team Pikayou and the Motion Structure Laboratory showcases the application of thick-panel origami on deployable space structures. Using a DIY thick-panel origami solar charger, they demo how the technology solves problems of panel thickness, enabling large arrays to fold into a compact package — handy in space and at home.
        At the 2025 Xplorer Prize ceremony, the video won Best Entry in the regular track.

4. Participating in the first National Science Popularization Month Science Fair and Chaoyang District Sci-Tech & Culture Carnival: The Science of Paper Folding
        In September 2025, the National Science Popularization Month Science Fair and the Chaoyang District Sci-Tech & Culture Carnival, hosted by the China Science and Technology Museum and the Chaoyang District Government, were held at the Olympic Forest Park in Beijing.
        As one of ten exemplary projects funded by the New Cornerstone Science Foundation, MSL attended this event to showcase to the public the laboratory’s origami engineering research including deployable structures, metamaterials, robots and more.

Exploration
Exploration is the driving force of science and our relentless pursuit.

1. The 2nd National Symposium on Space Mechanisms was held in Deqing, Zhejiang Province from October 17–19, 2025. Team members Zhang Xiao and Wang Tianshu attended the conference.

2. The 2025 High-End Equipment Industry Development Conference (and Annual Academic Seminar of Key Programs of the National Natural Science Foundation of China) was held in Changsha, Hunan Province from November 21–22, 2025. Team member Wang Tianshu attended the conference.

3. The Symposium on Multidisciplinary Fusion Design and Application of Metamaterials and Robotics was held at Tianjin University on November 28, 2025. Team members participated in the conference organization and actively engaged in academic exchanges with scholars.

Innovation
Innovation is the soul of science and the foundation of the laboratory.

【Journal Papers】Science Advances
        In collaboration with Professor Hanqing Jiang’s group at Westlake University, we mapped a spatial 7R linkage featuring kinematic bifurcation onto a modular origami, and developed a reconfigurable modular origami metamaterial unit cell with tunable symmetry. Remarkably, using only two sets of symmetric modules（four-unit and six-unit symmetry modules）—and their tessellations, a complete two-dimensional discrete symmetry system can be constructed, spanning rosette groups (10 point groups), frieze groups (7 line groups), and wallpaper groups (17 space groups). To enable programmable and reversible symmetry transformations, we further developed a simple yet efficient dual-layer pneumatic actuation scheme. This method allows the unit cell to rapidly and reversibly switch among distinct symmetry-group configurations via binary inflate/deflate commands. Building on this capability, we constructed an antenna-integrated reconfigurable electromagnetic metasurface. By leveraging the origami platform’s continuous symmetry-tuning capability, we established how symmetry dictates the emergence of bound states in the continuum (BICs) and governs their evolution into quasi-BICs (qBICs) under controlled symmetry reduction.

【Journal Papers】Advanced Functional Materials
        The research team of Professor Yan Chen from School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University, in cooperation with Professor Lei Zhang from School of Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University and Professor Jiu'an Lv from School of Engineering at West Lake University proposed a threefold Möbius machines based on topological structure of the Möbius strip, which can continuously operate in a constant environment. A theoretical model is built based on moisture diffusion and developable surfaces to unveil the mechanisms of curvature-driven rotary motion with shape conservation, and to establish the quantitative correlations between the motion speed and the geometric and environmental parameters to optimize the design under given constraints. Experiments have demonstrated that the machine can achieve autonomous periodic motion for over 252 hours, continuously output mechanical work, and dynamically sense environmental humidity.

【Journal Papers】Composites Part B: Engineering
        In collaboration with Professor Yanfeng Wang’s group at Tianjin University, the team proposed a double-tubular origami metamaterial possessing simultaneous mechanical and acoustic properties. By utilizing the non-linear mapping relationship between parameters and performance, independent programming of these two physical properties was achieved. Furthermore, the integration of thermoplastic materials enabled reconfigurable geometries and tunable performance. This work opens up a new avenue for the development of next-generation intelligent engineering materials that integrate energy absorption, noise suppression, and dynamic adaptability.

【Journal Papers】Advanced Science
        The research team of Professor Yan Chen from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University, in cooperation with Professor Lei Zhang from the School of Chemical Engineering at Tianjin University proposed a double-helical robot constructed with humidity-sensitive agarose films, referred to as the Dualicalbot, which exhibits an ultra-fast rolling speed of 5.8 body lengths per second (BL/s), setting a new performance record for untethered soft robots driven by constant stimuli, and has functions such as cargo transportation with a payload of 100% self-weight and acid environmental detecting.

        The research team of Professor Yan Chen from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University, in cooperation with Professor Zhong You from University of Oxford and Professor Changqing Chen from Tsinghua University proposed a family of 2n-side kinematic polygonal modules introducing n decoupled inputs and 2ⁿ transitable extreme configurations. They first designed and integrated seven basic logic gates on a quadrilateral module, followed by developing a minimized combinatorial logic canonical function, the parallel computing sum of the product (PCSoP) function, to simplify the construction of logic computing systems. On this basis, all four types of arithmetic operations (a 2-bit divider is implemented for the first time), information display and recognition were realized on a single polygonal module.

【Journal Papers】Research
        The research team of Professor Yan Chen from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University proposed a reconfigurable hierarchical metamaterial. By establishing a linear relationship between the stiffness of the metamaterial and the number of active hinges, the team achieved a linearized structure-property relationship. Furthermore, mechanical logic circuits were embedded into the metamaterial to map different hierarchical configurations to LED-visualized stiffness values, realizing the integration of structure, property, and information.

【Journal Papers】International Journal of Mechanical Sciences
        A hybrid design paradigm was proposed, fusing experiment-driven and computation-driven approaches: experiments guide the creation of a one-DOF rigid-foldable wrapping origami structure, while computation-driven dimensional synthesis guarantees interference-free, compact folding for multi-layer patterns. This combined strategy offers a new method for designing other rigid-foldable origami and deployable systems.

【Journal Papers】Mechanism and Machine Theory
        The team of Professor Yan Chen from Tianjin University, collaborating with Professor Zhong You from the University of Oxford, has explored of the one-DOF topological combinations of spatial 8R linkage based on uniform-thickness regular hexagonal panels, constructed a series of one-DOF planar thick-panel origami mechanisms using one-DOF spatial 8R linkage networks and uniform-thickness regular hexagonal panels, which have flat surfaces and compact folding properties. This paper research various thick-panel folding cases and their mechanism topologies based on various panel connection forms, thereby further enhancing the versatility and applicability of planar thick-panel origami mechanisms.

【Journal Papers】Small Structures
        The team of Professor Yan Chen from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin University, in collaboration with Professor Guowu Wei from the University of Salford, UK, integrated stereometric geometry and kinematic mechanism theory to construct a series of kirigami Archimedean polyhedrons with one-degree of freedom radial transformation, proposed comprehensive transformation schemes between Archimedean and Platonic polyhedrons while demonstrating their reconfigurability and thermal-responsive characteristics. The kirigami polyhedral mechanisms and transformation strategies presented in this work provide novel inspiration and design paradigms for innovative spatial deployable structures and multifunctional metamaterials.

【Journal Papers】Advanced Intelligent Systems
        The team proposed a novel design approach for a multi-mode soft robot with high integration of structure and actuation, based on a single braided structure composed of SMA wires with distinct initial configurations. By selectively braiding different wires in a braided tube and heating them in sequence, a crawling robot, a rolling robot, and a multi-mode robot are developed and actuated without additional actuators. The structure-driven integrated design framework proposed in this study has guiding and reference significance for the design of highly integrated multi-stable multi-mode soft robots.

         Despite the challenges on the road to innovation, our team has overcome obstacles with determination, creating unforgettable memories. In the Structures of Motion Laboratory, innovation thrives, with every idea finding the space to grow and every creative spark shining brightly.

Looking towards 2026
Scientific research is endless; struggle is an essential part of the process.
Say goodbye to the wonderful and fulfilling year of 2025, and welcome 2026. Let us continue to move forward and create another amazing chapter!