June 19, 2024 • 12 mins
Discover how the ancient art of origami is revolutionising sustainable energy!
Researcher Jingyi Yang, from the Department of Engineering Science, has loved origami since childhood. Now she’s channelling that passion to tackle engineering challenges. Using the intricate papercraft to develop clam-like models, Jinyi’s creative engineering may be the key to improving the efficiency of energy produced by the waves hitting the UK’s coastline.
Find out more about this imaginative approach to scientific discovery in this podcast!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Emily Elias (00:06):
Waves from the ocean hitting the shore generate a
lot of power, and there are even wave
generators out there to harvest it. But
what if we could make them more efficiently?
Some researchers at the University of Oxford believe
that origami could be the key to
unlocking this. And so on this episode of
(00:26):
the Oxford Sparks big Questions podcast, we're
asking, how can origami help
make energy?
Hello, I'm Emily Elias, and this is the show where we seek
out the brightest minds at the University of Oxford, and we ask
them the big questions. And for
(00:47):
this one, we have found a researcher who is great
at folding and unfolding things.
>> Jingyi Yang (00:53):
My name is Jingyi Yang. I'm a postdoc researcher.
>> Emily (00:55):
Ah.
>> Jingyi (00:55):
At University of Oxford. I'm working in
department of Engineering Science, working on
origami inspired deportable structures.
>> Emily (01:03):
Okay, so origami. I mean, where did your love for
origami first begin?
>> Jingyi (01:08):
Well, yeah, it's been a long
time. When I was four or
five years old, my grandma
taught me how to fold those paper
frocks. Procon darts, and also the fortune
tellers. You know, it's really fun.
I can stay there and play for many hours out of it. I
don't know why did I do that. But, yeah,
(01:30):
since a young girl, I've been interested in
origami. And then later on,
I found a professor in Oxford working
origami inspired engineering. So it's a
perfect match for me.
>> Emily (01:43):
How do engineering and origami come together?
>> Jingyi (01:46):
Okay, so people believe that
origami was originated in China because
the chinese invented paper. And
then the paper folding technique is
popularised in Japan. And initially,
people used that for decorations for religious
ceremonies, etcetera, for recreation of
children. Until, 1960s,
(02:10):
mathematician and origamist called
Akira Yoshizawa, he
wrote many books about the fundamental
mathematics about origami. And that's why
origami becomes more popular and spread to the
western world. Since then, people have
been working on origami inspired engineering.
Especially there is a, very famous
(02:32):
american. He used to be a NASA
engineer. The name of him is, Robert
Lang. And he's also interested in
origami. And he thought, why
cannot I just use origami to fold solar panels
of satellites? And, that is
the start of origami inspired
engineer. So because it is the
(02:53):
origami, we fold a piece of paper
from flat state into some very
interesting geometries, such as a play,
a pagong, die, etcetera. But it's. It can go beyond
that. So in engineering, we use that
property to fold something from a flat sheet
into a very compact volume. For example,
(03:14):
we can fold solar panels of satellite
or reflect array antennas. They all
need to be really a flat sheet,
continuous surface folded into a very
compact volume, put inside of the rocket before
launching and then pull, expand it
to, ah, a flat and continued surface when it is
in orbit.
>> Emily Elias (03:34):
So is it just for like, okay, so we've got to make something
compact and fold out when we're
putting it into space. Or can it be used in other
ways?
>> Jingyi (03:44):
Oh, yes, there are many applications of
origami. So for example, we are working on
some endovascular stent.
>> Emily (03:51):
What is that?
>> Jingyi (03:52):
so people, when people getting older, or they're not
living in a great healthy lifestyle.
So, the blood vessel may get
blocked. Surgeons need to put a little stand
inside of the vessel to expand it
to clear the blockage. And
one of the way to do that is to make a little cut either
at the hand or at the leg.
(04:14):
And, it goes together with a catheter, a blue
catheter folding from a really small
size and then pump open to clear the
blockage at a blocked area.
>> Emily (04:24):
So from a medical standpoint, you can use it
to get something in a tiny space that can then expand out and
do its job.
>> Jingyi (04:31):
Exactly. It's a medical device.
>> Emily (04:33):
What about energy? Like, what exactly are you
working on?
>> Jingyi (04:37):
Okay, in my defu, I was working on
the thing that I talked to you just now. Foldable
satellite or foldable reflect array
antennas. Moving on to my postdoc position,
I'm working on a wave energy converter. so it is an
origami inspired wave energy converter. because it's the
UK, we have a lot of coastlines. We want to utilise
those. Free energy or sustainable energy, let's put
(04:59):
it this way. And then we want to put one,
metre size or 50 metre size
wave energy converters floating
inside of the sea to harvest the energy,
converting the wave motion to electricity.
>> Emily (05:14):
Okay, so these are the things that are like just hanging out
on the edges of the coast and they're
passively getting like, rocked around and
then we're getting energy off of them.
>> Jingyi (05:25):
Exactly. So they are anchored to the
seabed and then they are floating and they
are opens and close, breathing air and breathing out
of air, to generate energy.
>> Emily (05:36):
So how do you go about designing something like
that using origami as a
technique? Do you literally sit there and fold
a piece of paper of what you think the structure could
look like and do?
>> Jingyi (05:49):
Yeah, exactly. So that is
exactly what this seems like for my daily job.
Yeah. Instead of reading a paper, folding paper seems easier,
isn't it? so,
I actually want to show you my office. I
actually have a lot of scrapped paper.
What we like to do is because nature
(06:09):
finds its own way to the minimal energy
state. And then we can find a crease
pattern, which is the fold pattern for the
origami. And that is the
natural way that the structure would like to
be. So, yeah. So from there we do
some optimization work, mathematical work,
to prove, okay, this is the really
(06:32):
lowest, energy state that the structure would like to
stay.
>> Emily (06:35):
So you're looking at nature for inspiration to then make your
origami. In the case of trying to figure out something
that like, will use the power of waves in the
ocean. What have you taken
inspiration from on this project?
>> Jingyi (06:49):
Oh, it's actually a sea clam. So it is
the clam that we usually eat
on dining table. So it opens and
closes, opens and closes. For the clam
itself, it is not enclosed.
However, in our case, we need to make a fully
enclosed body in order for it
to survive the ocean condition because we
(07:11):
don't want water to trap inside of
the expensive, machineries.
>> Emily (07:16):
So do you have like 1000 paper
clams that you like folded and refolded
to try and find the right configuration?
>> Jingyi (07:25):
We did have a lot of trial and error in the
beginning of the project.
And yeah, we have a lot of configurations. You're
right, exactly. And then probably
after eight months, we kind of fixed a,
configuration. And then we start to optimise the
configuration to make it have less
strain, have to have more power,
(07:47):
takeoff, etcetera.
>> Emily (07:49):
so what does it look like?
>> Jingyi (07:51):
Well, I really want to show you. So it is
like a clamp. It's like a c clamp with
two rigid, plates.
They cut, flap and then some
origami please in the middle
to facilitate the connection and to facilitate
the motion of it. So
(08:11):
it has to be a fully enclosed
body in order for it to
survive in seawater. We don't want any
seawater to trap inside. So it is
like a, it is like a bellow or
it is like accordion. So if you can see the
pleats, if you can imagine the pleats in between
of the two rigid plate, it is just like a
(08:34):
bellow to, in the old days, you use the
bellow to light up a fire, to have
barbecue. It is just like a bellow case.
>> Emily (08:43):
Oh, so like an accordion. So you push it in and you pull it
out.
>> Jingyi (08:46):
Exactly. So the wave motion will do the pushing
in and out in terms of wave crest and wave
troughs. And then the motion is generated
by the sea and then it all dance
by itself.
>> Emily (09:00):
Is it out in the wild working or is
it still in the lab?
>> Jingyi (09:04):
It is still in the lab. So we are trying to do a proof
concept project over here. And then we make
some desktop models. We make some
downscaled models for the tank test.
Well, the plan is the tank test will
be completed in the summer in University of Plymouth,
which is our collaborator.
>> Emily (09:22):
And what has to happen for it to pass the tank test?
>> Jingyi (09:25):
First of all, we are having a lot of
electronics and controls motors inside
of these origami clamps,
so that we call this wave energy converter.
So, first of all, we try to simulate the
wave motion and to
replicate the wave motion using the control system,
the motors, etcetera. first of
(09:47):
all, it can't be sinking. It needs to be floating
up there. And secondly, it needs to
have a great swept angle as
we designed or imagined for the
machinery for it to generate
electricity. Meanwhile, we are doing
some dry tests as well. So not inside
of the ocean basin, but on the
(10:10):
ground, trying to see the range of motion of the
origami fully enclosed origami wave
energy converter and to see what is the
strain and stress.
>> Emily (10:20):
So how is it going so far?
>> Jingyi (10:22):
it went pretty well, a bit
delayed due to the COVID
but, we are trying to perform the
tank test and dread test probably next
month.
>> Emily (10:33):
Are you feeling anxious about it?
>> Jingyi (10:35):
Well, I'm excited about it, to be honest. I'm
very excited to see, the wave
energy converter putting into the water and to see
how it behaves.
>> Emily (10:45):
What do you think this could mean further down the line?
If we're able to use origami
to
harness the power of the sea, what
could that mean for our planet?
>> Jingyi (10:56):
So currently there are also some wave energy
converter, but the cost is
really huge. By using origami wave
energy converter, we try to reduce down, the cost,
which means we can have many of them put it
inside of the water to harvest energy.
And the ocean energy is purely
sustainable energies. It is free. That's
(11:18):
why if we can harness that,
it's just another source of energy
apart from wind, apart from solar,
and probably apart from fusion
efficient. If that is, coming
soon, that is a step towards
the next zero.
>> Emily (11:37):
The UK has a lot of coastlines, so this could be
a big game changer, right?
>> Jingyi (11:42):
I believe so. And I'm really. That's why I'm really excited
about it.
>> Emily (11:52):
This podcast was brought to you by Oxford Sparks from
the University of Oxford with music by John Lyons
and a special thanks to Jingy Yang. Tell us what you think about this
podcast. We are on the Internet at Oxford Sparks and pitch us
your big question and we will find you a big answer.
Our website is also out there. Oxfordsparks
ox ac uk
(12:13):
I'm Emily Elias. Bye for
nowhere.
Waves from the ocean hitting the shore generate a
lot of power, and there are even wave
generators out there to harvest it. But
what if we could make them more efficiently?
Some researchers at the University of Oxford believe
that origami could be the key to
unlocking this. And so on this episode of
(00:26):
the Oxford Sparks big Questions podcast, we're
asking, how can origami help
make energy?
Hello, I'm Emily Elias, and this is the show where we seek
out the brightest minds at the University of Oxford, and we ask
them the big questions. And for
(00:47):
this one, we have found a researcher who is great
at folding and unfolding things.
>> Jingyi Yang (00:53):
My name is Jingyi Yang. I'm a postdoc researcher.
>> Emily (00:55):
Ah.
>> Jingyi (00:55):
At University of Oxford. I'm working in
department of Engineering Science, working on
origami inspired deportable structures.
>> Emily (01:03):
Okay, so origami. I mean, where did your love for
origami first begin?
>> Jingyi (01:08):
Well, yeah, it's been a long
time. When I was four or
five years old, my grandma
taught me how to fold those paper
frocks. Procon darts, and also the fortune
tellers. You know, it's really fun.
I can stay there and play for many hours out of it. I
don't know why did I do that. But, yeah,
(01:30):
since a young girl, I've been interested in
origami. And then later on,
I found a professor in Oxford working
origami inspired engineering. So it's a
perfect match for me.
>> Emily (01:43):
How do engineering and origami come together?
>> Jingyi (01:46):
Okay, so people believe that
origami was originated in China because
the chinese invented paper. And
then the paper folding technique is
popularised in Japan. And initially,
people used that for decorations for religious
ceremonies, etcetera, for recreation of
children. Until, 1960s,
(02:10):
mathematician and origamist called
Akira Yoshizawa, he
wrote many books about the fundamental
mathematics about origami. And that's why
origami becomes more popular and spread to the
western world. Since then, people have
been working on origami inspired engineering.
Especially there is a, very famous
(02:32):
american. He used to be a NASA
engineer. The name of him is, Robert
Lang. And he's also interested in
origami. And he thought, why
cannot I just use origami to fold solar panels
of satellites? And, that is
the start of origami inspired
engineer. So because it is the
(02:53):
origami, we fold a piece of paper
from flat state into some very
interesting geometries, such as a play,
a pagong, die, etcetera. But it's. It can go beyond
that. So in engineering, we use that
property to fold something from a flat sheet
into a very compact volume. For example,
(03:14):
we can fold solar panels of satellite
or reflect array antennas. They all
need to be really a flat sheet,
continuous surface folded into a very
compact volume, put inside of the rocket before
launching and then pull, expand it
to, ah, a flat and continued surface when it is
in orbit.
>> Emily Elias (03:34):
So is it just for like, okay, so we've got to make something
compact and fold out when we're
putting it into space. Or can it be used in other
ways?
>> Jingyi (03:44):
Oh, yes, there are many applications of
origami. So for example, we are working on
some endovascular stent.
>> Emily (03:51):
What is that?
>> Jingyi (03:52):
so people, when people getting older, or they're not
living in a great healthy lifestyle.
So, the blood vessel may get
blocked. Surgeons need to put a little stand
inside of the vessel to expand it
to clear the blockage. And
one of the way to do that is to make a little cut either
at the hand or at the leg.
(04:14):
And, it goes together with a catheter, a blue
catheter folding from a really small
size and then pump open to clear the
blockage at a blocked area.
>> Emily (04:24):
So from a medical standpoint, you can use it
to get something in a tiny space that can then expand out and
do its job.
>> Jingyi (04:31):
Exactly. It's a medical device.
>> Emily (04:33):
What about energy? Like, what exactly are you
working on?
>> Jingyi (04:37):
Okay, in my defu, I was working on
the thing that I talked to you just now. Foldable
satellite or foldable reflect array
antennas. Moving on to my postdoc position,
I'm working on a wave energy converter. so it is an
origami inspired wave energy converter. because it's the
UK, we have a lot of coastlines. We want to utilise
those. Free energy or sustainable energy, let's put
(04:59):
it this way. And then we want to put one,
metre size or 50 metre size
wave energy converters floating
inside of the sea to harvest the energy,
converting the wave motion to electricity.
>> Emily (05:14):
Okay, so these are the things that are like just hanging out
on the edges of the coast and they're
passively getting like, rocked around and
then we're getting energy off of them.
>> Jingyi (05:25):
Exactly. So they are anchored to the
seabed and then they are floating and they
are opens and close, breathing air and breathing out
of air, to generate energy.
>> Emily (05:36):
So how do you go about designing something like
that using origami as a
technique? Do you literally sit there and fold
a piece of paper of what you think the structure could
look like and do?
>> Jingyi (05:49):
Yeah, exactly. So that is
exactly what this seems like for my daily job.
Yeah. Instead of reading a paper, folding paper seems easier,
isn't it? so,
I actually want to show you my office. I
actually have a lot of scrapped paper.
What we like to do is because nature
(06:09):
finds its own way to the minimal energy
state. And then we can find a crease
pattern, which is the fold pattern for the
origami. And that is the
natural way that the structure would like to
be. So, yeah. So from there we do
some optimization work, mathematical work,
to prove, okay, this is the really
(06:32):
lowest, energy state that the structure would like to
stay.
>> Emily (06:35):
So you're looking at nature for inspiration to then make your
origami. In the case of trying to figure out something
that like, will use the power of waves in the
ocean. What have you taken
inspiration from on this project?
>> Jingyi (06:49):
Oh, it's actually a sea clam. So it is
the clam that we usually eat
on dining table. So it opens and
closes, opens and closes. For the clam
itself, it is not enclosed.
However, in our case, we need to make a fully
enclosed body in order for it
to survive the ocean condition because we
(07:11):
don't want water to trap inside of
the expensive, machineries.
>> Emily (07:16):
So do you have like 1000 paper
clams that you like folded and refolded
to try and find the right configuration?
>> Jingyi (07:25):
We did have a lot of trial and error in the
beginning of the project.
And yeah, we have a lot of configurations. You're
right, exactly. And then probably
after eight months, we kind of fixed a,
configuration. And then we start to optimise the
configuration to make it have less
strain, have to have more power,
(07:47):
takeoff, etcetera.
>> Emily (07:49):
so what does it look like?
>> Jingyi (07:51):
Well, I really want to show you. So it is
like a clamp. It's like a c clamp with
two rigid, plates.
They cut, flap and then some
origami please in the middle
to facilitate the connection and to facilitate
the motion of it. So
(08:11):
it has to be a fully enclosed
body in order for it to
survive in seawater. We don't want any
seawater to trap inside. So it is
like a, it is like a bellow or
it is like accordion. So if you can see the
pleats, if you can imagine the pleats in between
of the two rigid plate, it is just like a
(08:34):
bellow to, in the old days, you use the
bellow to light up a fire, to have
barbecue. It is just like a bellow case.
>> Emily (08:43):
Oh, so like an accordion. So you push it in and you pull it
out.
>> Jingyi (08:46):
Exactly. So the wave motion will do the pushing
in and out in terms of wave crest and wave
troughs. And then the motion is generated
by the sea and then it all dance
by itself.
>> Emily (09:00):
Is it out in the wild working or is
it still in the lab?
>> Jingyi (09:04):
It is still in the lab. So we are trying to do a proof
concept project over here. And then we make
some desktop models. We make some
downscaled models for the tank test.
Well, the plan is the tank test will
be completed in the summer in University of Plymouth,
which is our collaborator.
>> Emily (09:22):
And what has to happen for it to pass the tank test?
>> Jingyi (09:25):
First of all, we are having a lot of
electronics and controls motors inside
of these origami clamps,
so that we call this wave energy converter.
So, first of all, we try to simulate the
wave motion and to
replicate the wave motion using the control system,
the motors, etcetera. first of
(09:47):
all, it can't be sinking. It needs to be floating
up there. And secondly, it needs to
have a great swept angle as
we designed or imagined for the
machinery for it to generate
electricity. Meanwhile, we are doing
some dry tests as well. So not inside
of the ocean basin, but on the
(10:10):
ground, trying to see the range of motion of the
origami fully enclosed origami wave
energy converter and to see what is the
strain and stress.
>> Emily (10:20):
So how is it going so far?
>> Jingyi (10:22):
it went pretty well, a bit
delayed due to the COVID
but, we are trying to perform the
tank test and dread test probably next
month.
>> Emily (10:33):
Are you feeling anxious about it?
>> Jingyi (10:35):
Well, I'm excited about it, to be honest. I'm
very excited to see, the wave
energy converter putting into the water and to see
how it behaves.
>> Emily (10:45):
What do you think this could mean further down the line?
If we're able to use origami
to
harness the power of the sea, what
could that mean for our planet?
>> Jingyi (10:56):
So currently there are also some wave energy
converter, but the cost is
really huge. By using origami wave
energy converter, we try to reduce down, the cost,
which means we can have many of them put it
inside of the water to harvest energy.
And the ocean energy is purely
sustainable energies. It is free. That's
(11:18):
why if we can harness that,
it's just another source of energy
apart from wind, apart from solar,
and probably apart from fusion
efficient. If that is, coming
soon, that is a step towards
the next zero.
>> Emily (11:37):
The UK has a lot of coastlines, so this could be
a big game changer, right?
>> Jingyi (11:42):
I believe so. And I'm really. That's why I'm really excited
about it.
>> Emily (11:52):
This podcast was brought to you by Oxford Sparks from
the University of Oxford with music by John Lyons
and a special thanks to Jingy Yang. Tell us what you think about this
podcast. We are on the Internet at Oxford Sparks and pitch us
your big question and we will find you a big answer.
Our website is also out there. Oxfordsparks
ox ac uk
(12:13):
I'm Emily Elias. Bye for
nowhere.
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