Origami Engineering

New Research in Origami Metamaterials Promises Wide Implications

Larissa Novelino, a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech, has long black hair and is wearing a black shirt and a black mask ovrer her nose and mouth. She is standing next to a table showing several metamaterial prototypes at different scales. They are different colors and range in size from smallest to largest.

The simplicity and elegance of origami, an ancient Japanese art form, has motivated researchers to explore its application in the world of materials. New research from an interdisciplinary team, including Northwestern University’s Horacio Espinosa and Sridhar Krishnaswamy and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Glaucio Paulino, aims to advance the creation and understanding of such folded structures for applications ranging from soft robotics to medical devices to energy harvesters.

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Faculty Research: Hyperbolic Paraboloid Origami Harnesses Bistability to Enable New Applications

Glaucio Paulino, a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, demonstrates hyperbolic paraboloid origami

While perhaps not as iconic as the paper crane, the hypar origami with its sweeping opposing arcs and saddle shape has long been popular for artists working in the paper folding tradition.

Now researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo are looking at the shape with an eye toward leveraging its structural properties, hoping to find ways to harness its bistability to build multifunctional devices or metamaterials.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

New origami can morph from one pattern to another, unlocking possibilities for new structures and materials

A new type of origami can morph from one pattern into a different one, or even a hybrid of two patterns, instantly altering many of its structural characteristics. (Photo: Allison Carter)

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a new type of origami that can morph from one pattern into a different one, or even a hybrid of two patterns, instantly altering many of its structural characteristics.

Friday, April 19, 2019

Shape-shifting origami could help antenna systems adapt on the fly

Silver dipoles are arranged across the folds of a Miuri-Ori pattern to create a radio frequency filter that’s tunable. By adjusting the dimensions, the filter can block a wide range of frequencies. (Photo: Rob Felt)

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have devised a method for using an origami-based structure to create radio frequency filters that have adjustable dimensions, enabling the devices to change which signals they block throughout a large range of frequencies.

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Origami, 3D printing merge to make complex structures in one shot

Closeup of an origami structure created through Digital Light Processing 3D printing. (Photo: Christopher Moore)

By merging the ancient art of origami with 21st century technology, researchers have created a one-step approach to fabricating complex origami structures whose light weight, expandability, and strength could have applications in everything from biomedical devices to equipment used in space exploration. Until now, making such structures has involved multiple steps, more than one material, and assembly from smaller parts.

Monday, October 22, 2018

Week in Japan takes origami engineering class to the roots and pioneers of their subject

Fizza Hassan, center, stands in front of the Sensoji Buddhist Temple in Tokyo's Asakusa neighborhood. Hassan, a civil engineering master's student, traveled to the city with her classmates from an origami engineering course she took at Georgia Tech in the fall taught by Glaucio Paulino. The class visited attractions around Japan and learned about origami principles from Paulino's collaborators in the country. (Photo Courtesy: Fizza Hassan)

When you want to learn about origami, what better way than to go meet the people and experience the culture responsible for its creation?

Monday, February 26, 2018

Students showcase final projects using origami engineering for social good

The Yoshi Group used a single Miura-ori based Yoshimura origami pattern to design four unique structures. From left, Phoebe Edalatpour, Jared Williams, Maria Yagnye and Emanuel Ferro hold models of their designs. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)

Want to get all that toothpaste out of the tube? How about provide shelter for homeless people or disaster victims? Glaucio Paulino's Origami Engineering class presented their interdisciplinary final projects using origami engineeering for social good in the Mason Building lobby Dec. 14.

Thursday, December 14, 2017
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School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Mason Building, 790 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0355
Phone: 404-894-2201
Fax: 404-894-2278