New devices morph and transform - like Iron Man's suit
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- BYU researchers unfold new class of mechanical devices
It took just over 10 years, but real science has finally caught up to the science fiction of Iron Man’s transforming exoskeleton suit. In a paper published Feb. 13, 2019, in Science Robotics, engineers at Brigham Young University (#BYU) detail new technology that allows them to build complex mechanisms into the exterior of a structure without taking up any actual space below the surface.
This new class of origami-inspired mechanisms, called “developable mechanisms,” get their name from developable surfaces, or materials that can take on 3-D shapes from flat conformations without tearing or stretching, like a sheet of paper or metal. They reside in a curved surface (like, say, the arms of Iron Man’s suit) and can transform or morph when deployed to serve unique functions. When not in use, they can fold back into the surface of the structure seamlessly.
“These new discoveries make it possible to build complex machines that integrate with surfaces to be very compact, but can deploy and do complex tasks,” said researcher Larry Howell, professor of mechanical engineering at BYU. “It opens up a whole new world of potential devices that have more functions, but are still very compact.”
Making hyper-compact mechanisms is something increasingly important as manufacturers across medical, space and military industries are constantly working to get more complex functionality in less space. Potential applications of developable mechanisms include:
• Medical: Surgical instruments that can both cut materials and deploy lights simultaneously during minimally-invasive surgery
• Vehicles and airplanes: Storage components that could deploy from the inner surface of the fuselage and be completely out of the way when not in use
• Military: Quad-rotor drones that have adjustable wing spans for fitting in tight spaces
• Space: Wheels that could deploy claws for rock crawling, which could be especially useful to an interplanetary rover.
This new class of mechanical structures evolved from Howell and colleague Spencer Magleby’s work on origami-based engineering, done in collaboration with origami artist Robert Lang. From solar arrays for NASA to bulletproof barriers for police officers, their work has generated national and international coverage. As the group of researchers moved to curved origami principles, the mathematics revealed a new way of doing more complex machines.
“Origami was a stepping stone to this,” Magleby said. “The art of Origami has inspired us to do things that don’t even look like Origami, yet it is the core of much of this new engineering.”
The new line of research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and includes researchers at BYU, the University of Southern Indiana and Lang Origami.
“It’s pretty cool to accomplish things that have merely been science fiction in the past,” Howell said. “These are discoveries that will enable us to do things that no one has ever been able to do before. And we hope that other engineers, as they build on these discoveries, will apply them in ways that will help make the world a better place.
Video credits: Producer Julie Walker; Cinematography Brian Wilcox; Editor Hannah Hansen
News release written by Todd Hollingshead (BYU) See more at news.byu.edu/n...
The industrial applications of pop-up books.
Anders9009 lol, good point
Literrally
Industrial revolution was the same for two thousand years old greek steam toy. And?
And expensive popup greeting cards.
exactly what I was thinking. I figured we had gotten to this step hundreds of years ago.
Kid from the future gonna make joke like this:
2019: We gonna have iron man suit.
2040: foldable spoon.
2035 after a foldable spoon breaks and injures a random kid: this aged well
@@MrFram or if a mentally unstable person uses a weapon hidden within one to injure someone politically convenient for the media to blow up
I have a foldable plastic fork. Does that count lol. From pasta salad container years ago.
There's actually are foldable spoons on instant ramen
We already have foldable spoon (spork to be exact) in Indonesia
sounds like these guys finally saw iron man 1 and got super hyped
More like some rich guy watched Iron Man and payed them to invent it and they are still working on it.
Just wait untill they discover that Tony has a suit made of nanobots Lol, human science in steroids
🤣
Sounds like me when i tried to build an iron man suit with cardboard
Let’s hope they will watch Avengers Infinity War soon !
I love their genuine excitement for old technology. Its like watching a baby discover their feet.
Yup
_old Japanese man folding origami watches the development......_
_laughs in Japanese_
Hi
origami was designed to preserve this knowledge from the last cycle...
Exactley.
Exactly
lol but not that hard
we also still on research
This will revolutionize the "pop-up" children's books industry.
wow this is a very original comment i applaud you 100%
@TaterGaber Couldn't agree more 😂😎
Im suprised thats what you thought off while they were showing all the innovative futuristic possibilities for these devices 😂👌
When I was 9 I had a rc car with tires that did this... as soon as it hit an obstacle, the tires morphed into climbing paddles
You're from 3027
@@shabazahmed My man living in Futurama over here
Oh the 90s such a great time♥️♥️♥️👨🏿🎓
@Eon Reeves rovers arent going fast.
@Eon Reeves have you seen how fast Mars rovers move?
It would be so cool if they could use this in books and have the pictures pop up from the books!
How many times is science going to "discover" origami?
I don't see your point
Probably every time origami can be applied to a new material for the first time.
'As many times as it takes' would be the obvious answer, I think..
These are people, not "science".
And it's not about rediscovering, it's about finding the right way and the right process and the right materials to apply concepts.
Just because you know how to use a log to roll something heavy down a hill doesn't mean that you essentially invented an F1 wheel.
1.This is not science, this is engineering.
2. It is not being discovered, but utilised.
0:11 I just saw him yesterday in one of veritasium's videos showing his soft machines
me too, kinda freaky
"his" soft machines... i saw that video too - he was saying he INVENTED some of those mechanisms because he 3D printed mechanisms that existed, even at the microscopic level. talent and knowledge are real, lying about your accomplishments? that's awful.
Nilaksh Singh TH-cam’s algorithm still working lol
Me to he is really cool!
Compliant mechanisms
“This may be a rocket, or a missile, and have this fairly complex...” *squeak
It honestly surprises me that this is something new to engineering xD
It's not. It is just the first time they are considering it for enginering. This has been in cabinet making for a long long time.
It's not lol
These really aren't, they just weren't that useful, so few were patented. In a lot of ways, Bionicles and origami have kind of used these the most.
It's not, it's just new to *these* engineers.
it's not, this kind of thing has existed since the 90s and probably long before that. This is just research done by this specific university
Is that the guy that was on veritasium ?
Yes he was
yes, Larry Howell
Yup, he's the one that popularize compliant mechanism nowadays.
It's confirmed guys, Iron man's suit is made of compliant mechanisms.
Yes
One of this dude went on holidays and saw these 3d foldable postcards. Came back to the office: "guys!"
Expanding ball memories from when I was a kid.
It's called a Hoberman Sphere
I always lost them
@@ihavekalashnikovyoudomath9275 What is the name of the tube version of a Hoberman Sphere?
Oh... so you were talking about that ball movement! Not the one you look down and in-between?
@@ihavekalashnikovyoudomath9275 muchas gracias!
The technology of pop-up books.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thought this.
failed to see the breakthrough.
constantinos schinas go buy yourself some neurons
right
All 3D-printed, although not new, this can be used to create complex tools. As always learned from from tools developed by evolution.
2:11
constantinos schinas well they are trying
Have seen a bunch of stuff from these guys- this video seems to represent the folding / origami style for visual demonstration purposes as most people have seen a pop up book or origami in the past. I believe they intend to use the folding method for nano construction of electronic components. (perhaps too advanced for the intended audience?)
I believe - with 3D printing technology , folks will begin to think differently about how to manufacture and examples like this will begin to overtake traditional forms of engineering. For myself - that hardest thing to overcome when designing for 3D printing is resource management.
for instance: do you want to spend 10 hours designing a part that is optimized for printing time, material usage and overall integrity. - that triangle of 'Good' - 'fast' - 'cheep'
It would most likely be a revolution/renaissance through the Mind,body, Spirit. We wouldn’t necessarily depend as consumers but creative consumers.. if everyone just printed their own things. In a way probably causing us to care more about resources and not be such gluttons about them maybe
looks like the experts finally caught up to my level of lego mechanisms from when i was a kid
Man, they look mesmerizing to look at. I want one of these.
So, hinges? heard about emm
Lots of these don't use hinges, or use them sparingly.
From what I understand it's a tube that can hide another tube. Or maybe hides two tubes.
Actually, some of these joints are gliding joints. So. . .
I think you didn't get it
That's kinda the main point to the benefits of their designs, no hinges or ball bearings means less moving parts, making it stronger and more durable. The origami stuff just packs small and saves space and weight.
Iron man: “am i a joke to you?”
Transformers toy designers
“ am I a joke to you?”
Dunno what the hype is... some resemble technology found in pop up books... "Oh we figured out how to use hinges and folding"
Yeah, that's all it is. Go play Fortnite.
The impressive part isn't just the technology but the new use for it. It's like saying "Rockets? Pfft. We'd had combustion engines for years before them."
Everything's gotta start somewhere. From the world's first light bulb to the very screen you're typing on now for example.
Matthew T that’s exactly what innovation is: seeing something in an area and figuring a way to apply it to another. Some times this process is more obvious than others, but it’s always about connecting ideas.
We as humans give credit to the first people who do something so that we promote other people to be the first in other things
I think the video was focusing on more rounded shapes and more complicated/yet practical applications. I before I've only seen basic square "orgami" like machines, which is good for some applications, but this new design on the old process opened up a whole new world of applications because now we can fold in different, more compact mechanisms. BTW I'm just basing this whole thing off my prior knowledge of this type of science, I'm by no means an expert, just interested
This is the kind of “discovery” that will inevitably lead into the long time development technology SOLELY for getting rid of the squeak and strengthening of the folding mechanisms rather than the whole functionality.
And from where we are standing, we are still there.
Transformers: The Early Days
my name is lego optimus prime and this is a message to all other bits
That's what it reminded me of too
I love how they’re acting like this is some amazing technological breakthrough when my plastic toys did even more complex things when I was 5...
This has practical applications
except I doubt you made them in a tiny scale for surgeries or a large scale for space. or made them with motors that can reliably control everything from a remote distance(however that, i admit its plausible), i doubt you built them with real world applications that are useful.
just because a thing is simple and been around for a long time, doesn't mean applying them to science or engineering in any way can't be an innovative, clever and helpful discovery. it works! give them credit for thinking of it.
Interesting but how did I get here?
By clicking on it or staying on the video and autoplay.
Lol
TH-cam recommendations algorithm!
If you also follow veratasium then that why I guess.
because of the TH-cam algorithm
How did she get there?
TH-cam decided to put this in my recommended list, to show me hinges and a few things they haven’t got a uses for. My life is now complete.
For use in space, totally agree. For use in surgery, I'm sceptical you could keep everything from pinching/jamming/infecting tissue in any situation where it would be operated internally.
Out of all their videos this one has the highest views. People don't care about their inventions. They see IronMan, they click.
Several of those would make really effective wall anchors. They could also potentially be used to limit the range or penetration of a projectile.
Name a better duo than art and science
I’ll wait
Could you imagine these being used in conjunction with programmable magnets!?
Nice
Like a magnet that you can turn on and off?
@@PinheadLarry1337 So electromagnet?
@@emperorfaiz not the only way but yeah
@@PinheadLarry1337 Nope, but they can be made for that. There is now a way to selectively magnetize stuff so it has anywhere from 1 to 100+ magnetic poles of either positive or negative variant. Look up "Smarter Every Day Programmable Magnets" on here and you'll see what op means
TSA agent walks into the room to perform a cavity search. The victim sighs with relief as they notice the TSA agent only holds a pen. As the TSA agent locks the door, they put the pen on the floor and it expands into something like a vacuum cleaner. Yay for technology!
One thing this video lacks is the words “deploy,” “deployed,” and “complex.”
Great to see Bakugan finally making a comeback!
whos that
Scientist: this is a revolution.
Origami: Am I a joke to you?
Ah, look who finally discovered origami
I saw something similar applied to solar panels, it was very interesting. It was an origami solar panel made of carbon fiber and conceived to be easily carried around. Levante should be the name of the startup
....ordinary people have thought and implemented this kind of tech for years...and they're just now discovering it? Great job catching up to the rest of the world.
1999: in the future, there will be flying cars!
2019: how about some tools that transform?!
No one would have clicked the video without Iron Man's suit in the title..
Transformers, they are already among us
Okay all this stuff is super cool, but they kept saying throughout the video how revolutionary this is and how no one has done this, but this kind of mechanism is so simple and already known and has been worked with for years.
I'm still trying to wrap my mind around how some of these mechanisms work. Very cool 😎
Your 3D animations are way cooler!
Woah what? Things can fold so they’re flat?
And then unfold and... not be flat?
Man... science is amazing
Rich Brownings Jetsuit + this = Iron Man
Quick Maths
not really becouse this needs to be able to house the components of his suit and, well, he already made it as compact as possible next step will be just using smaller jets that have the same power (or more) as the ones he has which doesn't have any thing to do with this video that hyped origami way too much.
not to mention that adding missiles like iron man will make it even bigger.
if any thing, the thing that will help Rich is nono-tech.
sorry for rumbling so much, I know you made a joke.
Love how they're not hiding the "WE WANT IRON MAN TECH" part
These guys were 3 years old when their parents read pop-up books to them.
It's more like they just got introduced to those books.
Someone: this is useless.
Engineers: It could be useful for Iron Man.
Love this, as a mechanical engineer one all ways want to include more functions but less parts and this shows a lot of potential
I study Product design and this video has just given me a multitude of ideas !! Thank you everyone.
Keep smashing your day !! Be productive !!
I know other people have mentioned this but this is basically pop-up book mechanics! 😅
Glad to see everyone in the comment section is in unison about this "revolutionary" mechanisms
Cro-magnons: "oh my god, it's just origami"
....applied to science and engineering in new and innovative ways. Before that it was just pretty paper shapes, now it may wind up in everything from surgery to outer space. You're sound like the protoboomers in the 60s and 70s going, "... com-pyu-ter? It's just a typewriter you have to plug in!"
Cro-magnons were smarter than them don't insult them like that XD
Also yeah that's exactly what they are, proto-boomers of the modern day
I remember reading those books that pop up and you pull a tab or flip a panel. This is definitely next level stuff here that's for sure.
I'm sorry but this is nowhere near the technology used in the Iron Man suit...
You think iorn man suit actually exist?
Brock Peterson I would like a deployable cup holder on my ak47
im sorry ofcourse it didnt u dumdum, if theres things like iron man suit we'd already have flying cars flyin around.
Tony's childhood design's lol
Right you'd have to hollow out your forearms to fit the rockets.
A military General would look to that "puck" shaped drone and think: "Nice ! A swarm of flying grenades !"
the promotional team will be at your desk in 10 minutes. think of something to say about these 3d printed folding things. "maybe it's smaller and it's for surgery, maybe it's a wheel on mars?" come on, real problems are specific and carry with them the constraints of the end use. Dreaming is good, but task-force promoted dreaming is kind of silly.
Many times in history discoveries have been made before there was use for them. Did it mean they were made in vain? Were they wasted? Most of the time, no. Do you see the fault in your logic?
What do you mean?
Of course, advertisements would emphasise on the more impressive functions a product have.
Rationalising with them, it is indeed difficult to cover every function it has. There's always the time where they industrialise and put out ideas that fit in our daily lives. So for now as they are still developing and trying out new things, this is somewhat appropriate as a insightful glance into the future prospects. If done well, the next advertisements should be for their more commonly used products in daily lives. ( Do correct me if I interpreted you wrongly )
I meam obviosly the mars rover one was to show onr application of the crawl wheel.
It's interesting seeing the comments on this video and knowing they would be drastically different if uploaded by pretty much anyone else
Umbrella 2.0.
Tyrant now has hinges.
Wow - it's like amazing pop-up children's books just like iron man! What a spin!
Looks very interesting. Especially i like drone design
The egg drone idea looks interesting also... Plus its a real product you can buy today.
This is the most important science.
I thought he is talking about nano-technology..
Lol same
For everybody who fails to see the breakthrough, it's the first step towards practical application of origami
application on what though
I love how all of this is 3d printed. wish I was smart enough to understand all this. makes me wanna study engineering but I always wanted to study computer science 🤔
Everyone: Larry Howell
Me: heehoo the compliant mecanism man
Cool... Get them perfected, mass produced, and distributed ASAP. The future is now, so they say.
Fortified Mentality no, the future is tomorrow. Now is the present. And also the future of yesterday’s gone by.
I love how he barely tried to rationalize the thing coming off of the rocket
I feel like I’ve seen these before... oh yeah, my daughters pop up book.
They’re acting like they found something completely new and they’re so proud of it
2:26
looks just like a book opening and closing to me
Or a door xD
The best thing people can make so far. So, real ironman suit only possible in another 50 years.
Bringham Young University: New device morph and transform
Origami and pop up books: Am we a joke to you
AM WE
Me: Is grammar a joke to you?
This is what happens when u don't leave your work place. Complex model? *_*Laughing in Japanese origami*_*
Big things come from small ideas, never discredit people for thinking of small ideas it only show your lack of any ideas at all.
That’s exactly what I wanted to say
If this is a small idea, it shouldn't be advertised as something like "ironman suit". It's obvious click-bait.
Big things come from big ideas too, though. But I will admit, I'm struggling with weighing ideas. Maybe that is what people mean when they ask "what's the big idea?". But more on topic, none of what you said is definitely true. Big things dont only come from small ideas and you dont have to not have ideas to dislike small ideas, though, as I said before, I'm having trouble weighing ideas.
Yeah, true statement, but this is a student recruiting video aimed at highschool engineering hopefuls. They hear 'Ironman' and 'revolutionary' and when the student sees a mechanism similar to something they have thought of or made or whatever, they think they will be a great fit there in their School of Engineering.
BYU is an interesting and very unique college for several reasons and some of their programs are incredibly forward thinking, but this is really nothing more than a recruiting video trying to get young highschoolers interested in going to BYU. They aren't doing anything really forward thinking or groundbreaking with anything they have shown.
Professors these are Wonderful things that will inspire generations to come
Isn't this stuff already around since... A lot of time?
I’ve been watching TH-cam guys making those shapes for years
getting closer to 4th Dimensions
The hunter from Bloodborne: " Can you kill an Eldritch God with that?"
That’s a great way to use materials. I would love to work on the same.
That solar panel unfold was dope
So you guys are saying that eventually well have morphing drones?
...do you think we can paint them gold and call them a Snitch?
This is kind of like when you finish a part of the group project but the other guy didn’t finish his part and now you have to present with just half of the project.
I love this type of video
You too, huh!?
the ironman still inspire our growing up technology, pretty awesome
This is really cool you're on your way to programmable matter
This is sarcasm right? If not .... uh... um... this is just hinges and origami and isn't impressive as it's been around for ages including kids toys NO ESPECIALLY IN KIDS TOYS!
@@joelcrafter43 oh dear, I was trying to be encouraging 😬. I'd feel terrible if they took it as sarcasm. You're not wrong though things like this have definitely existed for a while but it's neat to see the execution and application of the idea in new ways. That being said something more involved than this. Such as transformation of an object, via a swarm of nano sized components, that make up the object itself, Is going to be very interesting when it reaches a much more mature state of being.
That drone is dope!
Well isn't this inspired by pop up books😂😂
1:35 when Landmine gets his cyber key power
If I'm being brutally honest, I'm not all that impressed. If you can motorize it and make a practical version of something, then it's a different story. But so far, it's been done before, albeit a different design, but nonetheless. In its current form, this doesn't seem all that revolutionary. But that's not to say it couldn't be.
Never knew my collapsible umbrella is a marvelous new tech
Pop up Books with wires lights and mirrors.
Yeah! Let's encourage people to build Iron Man suits... That can't go wrong!
I'm really interested in the drone applications. That was awesome.
You see drones everywhere but none of them really 'fold up' unless its a Mavic and those are really expensive.
none? amazon dude. there's like hundreds.
Yeah, i thought they were cool too, but I kinda dread the day everyone has a drone in their pocket.
I'm no expert but...
when iron man's suit does the "cool thing" as the guy said, I believe it's cooling the suit down.
my reasoning for that is because of the steam coming off of it and the fact that when a bullet hits bulletproof metal the energy has to go somewhere so it is turned into heat.
but heyyy that's just a theory.
*a film theory*
Learn more about Developable Mechanisms here: cmr.byu.edu/about-developable-mechanisms
Hello Jacob, I have a CS background and have interest in designing foldable structures. Any books or turorials you could recommend me?
This isn't actually a new invention so to speak, but I'm glad more people are picking up on it