Origami paper folding kayaks

Arton Willis used Origami paper art to create foldable and neatly folded Oru kayaks in backpacks.

When did you think that origami and transportation vehicles were closely related. The art of Japanese folding has led to a great solution for future crowded cities with limited space. One of the perfect examples is Oru Kayak - a rugged, fully functional, and neatly folded kayak that fits in the suitcase.

Origami - Japanese art of paper folding appeared in the 17th century. This art started from a paper winch along with some perfect principles and calculations recently made a perfect paper kayak. surprised many people.

The Oru Kayak is the brainchild of California designer Arton Willis. This special kayak is made of a plastic sheet (polyethelyne) including canoe, paddle and foldable and fit into a large suitcase. Although it is impractical to carry this kayak for a long time, it fits well into the truck and wardrobe. Willis said he was inspired by an article entitled 'The Miracles of Science Hidden in Origami' and he started up the idea for a paper folding kayak.

Willis said: 'I started studying Origami a few years ago and moved into an apartment in San Francisco. That means I have to stuff my beloved kayak into the warehouse. At that moment, I read the article in origami magazine and great products from this paper folding technology. From there I began to think whether it was possible to create a kayak from Origami paper folding art.

The Oru kayaks are made from a double-layer plastic with permanent glue to allow it to move easily on the water. The only seam of this kayak is located on the top of the vessel and increases water resistance and prevents leakage by rubber gaskets. When opened, the Oru kayaks have a length of more than 3.5m but when folded relatively compact with size 86x 73cm. To finance his idea, Willis called for funding, and the campaign succeeded in reaching its goal on the first day. Within 5.5 hours, the mobilized funds amounted to $ 80,000.

Yves Behar - Creative director of Jawbone technology company said: 'Kayak is an ambitious project. Imagine a boat and fold it into a backpack. You cannot anticipate all risks at sea. We are betting our lives on a paper kayak, this is really dangerous. '

However, Behar countered and said he would test these kayaks thoroughly to ensure the safety of the product before selling. He said: 'I think this is a project. Certainly this product will sell, but the challenge for me is whether the kayak market is big and whether the industry has the potential to grow in the future? '

Other paper-folding media have also achieved some success. Brompton's paper folding bike has become popular with urban dwellers worldwide since its invention in 1979. The Razor folding car has created a fever in the early millennium, but since then sales have continued to decline. ICON folding aircraft hopes to revive this industry with small size and low price strategies.

Behar appreciates this design and thinks it fits perfectly with modern thinking and consumer demand. He said: 'The key to a good design is to create products that keep up with the times, meet the criteria of affordable price development and give users the opportunity to enjoy them in their own way. their. And this product has met those criteria ".