Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- BYU engineers have developed origami-inspired foldable antennas for NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
- The antenna system is compact, automatically deploys and withstands space conditions without power.
- Research highlighted origami's influence on engineering, benefiting space applications with efficient stowage.
PROVO — After five years of research and several hours spent folding paper, BYU professors are presenting origami-inspired technology to NASA and the U.S. Air Force.
The prototype is a foldable antenna and telescope that can be deployed on spacecraft and permanently opened to enhance satellite systems.
"These systems represent a whole sequence of small inspirations that led to innovations," professor Spencer Magleby said.
Magleby and Larry Howell led the yearslong research at BYU's Compliant Mechanisms Research lab, aiming to create a better way to transport satellite systems into space.
"What we've designed is the most complex system we have ever done," Magleby said in a statement.
The final product utilized techniques from two origami designs that researchers adapted to ensure the compact design had automatic deployment and long-term stability. The team first experimented with origami designs on thin paper before switching to thicker materials while adjusting for increased stability, the university said.
"It's just so fun to be able to see something going from a paper to space," graduate student Katie Varela said.
The antenna folds into an "extremely compact cube" that wants to open, with a wire holding it in place, Magleby explained. When the time is right on the flight, and the ship is in the correct location in orbit, the wire can be cut remotely to deploy the antenna system.
"So it's held in place, but it's ready to go all the time," he said. "There's no power required or anything; it's all strained in there like a spring, ready to start the opening process."
The biggest challenge of designing something to unfold into a permanently flat position? Hinges.
Normal hinges can't withstand the harsh environment in space, so the engineers tried to use magnetic attraction to form a "bistable" hinge — meaning it would require energy input to separate the magnets. However, the engineers would need to be able to manipulate the magnetic force.
Researcher Hunter Pruett published a paper in 2023 that showed how to achieve the energy input, or "monostability" in a magnetic design. Layering and placing magnets along a hinge creates "naturally manipulating rotations" that open the compacted antenna into a large and more powerful transmission device, the university says.
"I think it's pretty cool that we are using this ancient art form to inspire our engineering," Pruett said.
The hinges move in one direction to allow the antenna to deploy but are stiff in other directions to make the hinges resistant to breaking. The magnets also ensured the device consistently deploys to the same position.
"As I look out and see what people have done with origami and art and other things, I think — wow — somehow those people have been inspired to create art that I love," Magleby said.
Magleby said research on using origami-inspired systems has transformed engineering. Origami-based designs can be very compact, which is beneficial for space applications as things need to be stowed efficiently.
"The product is not only the antenna; to me, the product is the students and the learning that they've been able to accomplish and the ways that they've been able to stretch their own thinking," Magleby said.
