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When we were little, whenever someone wanted to say something wise and philosophical, they would usually start with the words: “An old Chinese man once said…” Regardless of how wise the sentence was, it just goes to show how much the west has been, and still is, inspired by Chinese ancient wisdom, but it doesn’t end with wise, beautiful sentences. The practice of Origami, an old Chinese art of folding paper, is now an inspiration to a team of American scientists from the university of Notre Dame in Indiana.
The team works in the Kinetic Structures Laboratory, headed by Professor Ashley P. Thrall. This Notre Dame laboratory is the only one in the United States that draws inspiration from kinetic structures for civilian engineering solutions. The first inspiration that popped up in Thrall’s mind was after seeing how paper, folded in a certain way, can become a great support lever for lifting relatively heavy objects. So, after switching paper with a different material, the lab developed a way of lifting heavy side walls from horizontal states to vertical, in to time or effort.
The United States military has embraced this development and began cooperating with researchers in order to adjust the use of this support level to be able to lift heavy protection structures to shield soldier in the field during times of danger. Furthermore, it could serve as shleter against extreme weather, hot or cold, thus saving the American military a lot of money on fuel.
