When life gives you paper, make ORIGAMI!
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, saying…
“Fold… Turn over… Unfold… REPEAT!”
And voilà! Baby Yoda! T-Rex! Or a thousand cranes! But could origami have a higher purpose?
Yi Zhu from University of Michigan UNFOLDED origami’s potential. Zhu and his team created robots the size of a small bee using origami techniques. Zhu layered gold and a rubbery material with built-in bendy spots. Shooting electrical current through the gold layer creates heat, helping the flat robot fold itself. How does it UN-fold? Easy! By being COOL.
Zhu didn’t just make ONE foldy robot. These guys can fold into different shapes – even CRANES! Each shape does something different! Some are grippers! They can pick up pins and fit them into holes!
Zhu hopes to use these bots as medical devices or containers for delivering drugs into the body. And more! TINY devices with in-CREASED potential!
So, keep practicing those origami skills — your reasons are now twofold!