Origami, the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, is inspiring scientists to create new kinds of materials that can twist, bend, and even “breathe” when pressure is applied.
Researchers from the University of Michigan have taken inspiration from this centuries-old technique to design materials that can change shape predictably and smoothly.
This groundbreaking work was recently published in Nature Communications.
Traditionally, origami is used to create beautiful paper designs through precise folding techniques.
But now, scientists are studying these folds to understand how they could be applied to materials in everyday life.
Imagine running shoes that flex perfectly with each step, airplane wings that change shape during flight, or heart stents that can expand and contract without losing strength. These are just a few potential applications of origami-inspired materials.
James McInerney, the lead author of the study and a National Research Council research associate at the Air Force Research Laboratory, explains that origami has gained significant attention in recent years because of its ability to transform flat surfaces into complex three-dimensional shapes.
His team wanted to explore how different types of folds could control how a material bends and stretches when force is applied. Their work is all about adding strength and flexibility without increasing weight—a key challenge in engineering.
The secret lies in the creases. Just like a folded piece of cardboard is stronger and more predictable than a flat one, materials with origami-like folds can be made to bend in specific ways.
McInerney and his team introduced a new method of modeling these folds to understand how they affect the material’s behavior under pressure. This type of control could be incredibly useful in industries like construction, aerospace, and even packaging, where strength and lightness are equally important.
The research also involved scientists from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Princeton University, and the University of Trento. One of the study’s key discoveries was the use of trapezoidal folds instead of the usual parallelogram shapes, like squares and rectangles.
Trapezoids are more complex to work with, but they allow for entirely new ways for the material to move and respond to pressure.
The team found that these new shapes could make the material “breathe,” expanding and contracting smoothly, or “shear,” twisting in a unique way. Surprisingly, some of the movements from traditional shapes also appeared in the trapezoidal designs, suggesting there might be universal folding patterns yet to be explored.
The study’s co-author, Xiaoming Mao from the University of Michigan, points out that these origami-inspired designs are examples of “metamaterials.”
Unlike traditional materials, metamaterials gain their unique properties from their structure, not their chemical makeup. By folding materials in specific ways, scientists can give them new abilities without changing what they are made of.
While the research is still in its theoretical phase, it opens the door to new possibilities for creating materials that are lightweight, strong, and able to change shape on command.
According to McInerney, this could be just the beginning of a new wave of innovation inspired by the simple yet powerful art of origami.
