Designed, or not designed? That's the question.....
Origami tricks learned from insect wings enable highly collapsible structures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwSPGCZtTjQ
Researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom have unraveled the design rules for the origami-like folding that gives earwigs the most compact wing folding of any insect. In this video, take a look at the design and software the researchers have developed to facilitate applying it to real world applications. This understanding also opens new methods for exploring wing evolution and predicting extinct forms.
Earwig Wings are Origami-Like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4NiF3w101Q
ETH Zurich researchers have developed multifunctional origami
structures, which they then fabricated into 4D printed objects.
The design principle mimics the structure of an earwig’s wing.
https://asknature.org/strategy/earwigs-complex-origami-wing-fold/
Winged victory
Indeed, earwigs have some of the most incredible wings in the animal kingdom. Normally tucked away and completely hidden, they expand to 10 times or more their size during flight, when the insects are seeking out food or mates.
This is a handy trick, and one that has mesmerized generations of curious naturalists and engineers alike. Incredibly, the wings are able to unfold and lock into place—not to mention also unlocking and folding back up—without any direct muscle activation.
A group of researchers led by Andres Arrieta, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, recently published a paper in Science about how earwigs’ wings work. When the team tried to model the unfolding mechanism using a traditional understanding of origami-like folding, it did not compute. The wings simply do not fold like typical well-known materials (think paper) at a single crease.
Instead, Arrieta’s team found that the wings work by possessing spring-like folds, which have two stable configurations. He likens them to slap bracelets, which can stably switch between two different orientations.
HIGH-TECH INSECT ORIGAMI
https://morethanadodo.com/2020/07/15/high-tech-insect-origami/
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1051876809049352
Origami tricks learned from insect wings enable highly collapsible structures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwSPGCZtTjQ
Researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom have unraveled the design rules for the origami-like folding that gives earwigs the most compact wing folding of any insect. In this video, take a look at the design and software the researchers have developed to facilitate applying it to real world applications. This understanding also opens new methods for exploring wing evolution and predicting extinct forms.
Earwig Wings are Origami-Like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4NiF3w101Q
ETH Zurich researchers have developed multifunctional origami
structures, which they then fabricated into 4D printed objects.
The design principle mimics the structure of an earwig’s wing.
https://asknature.org/strategy/earwigs-complex-origami-wing-fold/
Winged victory
Indeed, earwigs have some of the most incredible wings in the animal kingdom. Normally tucked away and completely hidden, they expand to 10 times or more their size during flight, when the insects are seeking out food or mates.
This is a handy trick, and one that has mesmerized generations of curious naturalists and engineers alike. Incredibly, the wings are able to unfold and lock into place—not to mention also unlocking and folding back up—without any direct muscle activation.
A group of researchers led by Andres Arrieta, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, recently published a paper in Science about how earwigs’ wings work. When the team tried to model the unfolding mechanism using a traditional understanding of origami-like folding, it did not compute. The wings simply do not fold like typical well-known materials (think paper) at a single crease.
Instead, Arrieta’s team found that the wings work by possessing spring-like folds, which have two stable configurations. He likens them to slap bracelets, which can stably switch between two different orientations.
HIGH-TECH INSECT ORIGAMI
https://morethanadodo.com/2020/07/15/high-tech-insect-origami/
https://www.facebook.com/watch?v=1051876809049352
