Origami is revolutionizing technology, from medicine to space
A cacophony of barking alerts me to the cardboard box delivered to my front door. Packed inside is a single sheet of white corrugated plastic folded into what looks like a large suitcase. My canine companions take a curious sniff as I unfurl the rigid form, which spans nearly the width of my living room. Pushing outward on the creases of one side, I hear a shockingly loud pop.
The dogs sprint for cover, scrambling across wood floors, while I frantically look for damage, heart pounding. But nothing’s broken. Instead, the plastic suitcase has transformed, and suddenly a full-size kayak is sitting in my living room.
The boat, created by the company Oru Kayak, is part of a scientific and technological revolution inspired by the centuries-old art of origami. What began as efforts to understand the math behind fold patterns has opened up surprising possibilities for manipulating the shape, movement, and properties of all kinds of materials—filters of face masks, the plastic of kayaks, even living cells.
“I just can’t keep up,” says Robert J. Lang, a preeminent origami artist who previously worked as a laser physicist. “That’s a wonderful place for the field to be.”
