Origami inspired engineering: Challenges and opportunities in portable and foldable mechanisms in solar-power generation

Origami can be a source of inspiration for engineers and professionals in R&D, as complex figures can be obtained by folding a flat sheet of paper. Among the various applications of origami-inspired engineering, solar-power generation has emerged as a particularly promising field. Solar-powered systems are typically heavily constrained by the surface area they need to cover to produce electricity. The more power needed, the more surface area that requires to be covered. Foldable panels overcome this difficulty by folding the panels one on top of the other to temporarily reduce their footprint. However, to adequately design these products, several factors need to be accounted for, such as: the dynamics of the movement, the joint design, and the thickness of the panels, which might affect the Origami motion. These factors have a huge impact in the structural integrity, quality and performance of the panels. Thus, these factors also present themselves as challenges that must be overcome in a growing field with more and more applications. In this work, the authors present some of these challenges, as well as opportunities of research and development in this promising field.