The word origami can be broken down to "ori" meaning folding and "gami" meaning paper, in simpler terms it is the art of paper folding. Origami is most associated with the Japanese culture and the purpose is to transform a flat sheet square paper into a finished sculpture through folding techniques.
The principles that are apply for origami are now used in a wide variety of application from designs of satellites, to self-assembling robots, to constructing heart stents, solar panels, and much more.
Origami is being apply to many areas of engineering and is revolutionizing how problems are being solved.
One of the most important application is using origami principles to help fit large objects into a small shape and afterward the object is allow to expand again.
The areas that are apply origami techniques:
Self-assembling robots
Researcher from MIT and Harvard have designed a robot that can assembled itself. All the material initially are flat, however it can fold to create a device that can move on its owns and make turns. The flat panels are connected by hinges and embedded with electronics. For the entire assembly of the machine, it would take only four minutes.
Mirror and Solar Panel in Space
Fold-able solar panel that can be tuck away and unfolded is need to save space when a space ship is being send into space. When a piece of paper is folded into a small shape à la Miura, the way for it to go back to original shape is that one needs only to hold on both ends and pull, and the paper unfolds.
Origami is being apply to many areas of the engineering and the medical field. It is impressive that something ancient can be taken and reinvent the way we construct and give us new ideas to improve the future. Origami will be even more interesting in the future.
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