Wings

The first sample I made was a pair of wings. I started out with a simple hinge made of two detached pieces of cardboard with a rectangular bladder inbetween that made the hinge fold. This reminded me of a flying creature, so I attached some fabric to each cardboard piece to mimic wings.

Jellyfish

I wanted to make something that mimicked the movement of a jellyfish, where the inflatable bladder would make dangling tentacles move in and out. I originally tried using a plastic egg carton, cut into strips around the radius, but it was too stiff to be well-actuated by the bladder. I ended up using plastic grocery bag material for both the bladder and the tentacle.

Tongue

My last sample was a fabric “tongue” that sticks out a “mouth” when the bladder inflates. This idea was inspired by the fold in the original plastic grocery bag I had cut the material from. I decided to keep the fold and use it as a chamber the tongue could start enveloped in.