Origami in Engineering

In this episode of the Spin Up Science Podcast, Ben talks with Dr Simon Bates, CEO of Actuation Lab, an industrial hardware company looking to make use of recent improvements in material science to revolutionise the way everyday components work that haven’t evolved in over a hundred years.

As humanity’s reach expands ever outwards, the hardware designs that supported us through the past century are increasingly becoming obsolete, particularly as we move into more extreme environments. Hardware capable of reliably withstanding exposure to salt-water marine environments, for example, must resist corrosion, temperature fluctuations, and extreme pressures, particularly when these components are safety critical.

Actuation Lab are taking inspiration from origami structures, making components such as valves, actuators, and piston that fold and unfold as a single part, made from ultra durable composite materials which greatly extend part lifetime and safety to produce the next generation of industrial hardware.