MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory unveiled a three-sided fastener that can morph from flexible strips into rigid shapes on demand. The design traces back to a 1980s patent by William Freeman, a former MIT professor, and was refined by associate professor Stefanie Mueller’s team. Users generate custom geometries with proprietary software and 3D‑print the parts in plastic for rapid prototyping and testing.

With three pliable arms that zip together, the assembly can be programmed to stand straight, bend, coil or twist. A tent built from the fastener folds and deploys in just 80 seconds, while a wrist cast can be tightened or loosened without tools. Researchers also demonstrated a motorized version that changes a robot leg’s height at the push of a button.

Postdoc Jiaji Li, lead author on the accompanying paper, emphasizes that unlike conventional zippers, this mechanism transitions objects from pliable to load‑bearing instantly, a capability useful for field medical kits and deployable structures. The open‑source workflow lets engineers iterate designs rapidly, suggesting a new class of reconfigurable hardware that can be fabricated on‑demand with standard 3D printers.