MIT researchers revive 40-year-old triangular zipper concept now made possible by 3D printing, creates shape-shifting robots and deployable structures — 3D-printed 'Y-Zipper' turns floppy tentacles into rigid beams in seconds

MIT researchers have developed a 3D-printed three-sided zipper that rapidly transforms floppy structures into rigid beams, robotic limbs, and deployable frameworks using triangular geometry.