ABSTRACT
A structure is a combination of resistant bodies made to bear loads. The term motion structures is adopted to represent the deployable structure family owing to the existence of internal mechanisms. There are two ways to synthesise motion structures. Structural engineers and architects, responsible for most of the motion structures for civil engineering applications such as retractable roofs and facades, are inclined to adopt concepts involving a small number of larger moving bodies whose motions are then synchronised by electronic means. An alternative is to select known conventional mechanisms as basic building blocks and then to assemble such blocks together in such a way that the degrees of freedom of each mechanism are retained. A sound knowledge in mechanisms, combined with common sense and intuition, can contribute to the production of many more efficient motion structures. This chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
