NASA is using origami as an inspiration for a new solar array that can be folded up and sent into space to unfold and absorb energy from the sun.
The array is part of a collaboration between Brian Trease, mechanical engineer with NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab and origami enthusiast, researchers from Brigham Young University, and origami expert Robert Lang, who created the device out of origami folds, according to CNET. The prototype is about the size of a tablet, and can fold up as small as 8.9 feet and unfold to 82 feet.
"This is a unique crossover of art and culture and technology," said Trease.
Researchers claim the foldable arrays has a range of potential uses, including having a power plant in space using microwaves to send power to Earth. Trease said it would be easy to send the solar arrays into space since they could be folded and packed into one rocket launch, with "no astronaut assembly required," Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported.
He added that foldable solar arrays could be used with small satellites called CubeSats, as well as inside antennas. Situations where objects are deployed from the center outward in all directions can also benefit from the devices.
Scientists have found ways to combine origami with collecting solar energy before, CNET reported. Astrophysicist Koryo Miura created an origami fold in 1995 that he used to build a solar panel for a satellite in Japan.
For Miura's technique, pulling on one corner will open the whole array, Jet Propulsion Laboratory reported. While the technology is still in its early stages, Trease says such arrays can be used again with today's emphasis on smaller satellites and large structures.
"The fact that we're going both bigger and smaller may open up domains where it may be relevant again," he said.
Trease said researchers have been studying the mathematics of origami for the past 40 years, adding that more researchers are interested in using the concept of origami for new developments in modern technology.
"You think of it as ancient art, but people are still inventing new things, enabled by mathematical tools," he said.