GOOD SCIENCE
PAPER, ROCK, BULLET: A prototype of the collapsible shield stopped a shot from a.44 Magnum pistol.
JAREN WILKEY/BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
ORIGAMI IS strewn everywhere in the Compliant Mechanisms Research Group’s lab at Brigham Young University. The intricately folded designs aren’t just for decoration, and they go way beyond the cranes you might have whipped up as a child. They provide the inspiration for the researchers’ projects, such as a bulletproof shield that can be deployed in seconds and protect three people.