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Folding technology
To have and to fold —
In the age of the smartphone, we expect all our possessions to be sleek, compact and mobile. It's unsurprising, then, that many of the items we love -- from cars to tablets -- have received the folding treatment. Blueprint takes a look at the foldable technology of the future, starting with the Morph folding wheel. Gallery by Matthew Ponsford
The wheel -- developed by British construction collective Vitamins -- folds in such a way that it can easily be stored in the overhead locker of an airplane or in the trunk of a small car.
Courtesy Vitamin Designs
The folding wheel —
"When people say 'is this reinventing the wheel?' that's a phrase that everyone knows," says Morph designer Duncan Fitzsimmons, "but it's really redesigning the wheel to make it just a little bit better."
Courtesy Vitamin Designs
The folding tablet —
Samsung already has a curved screen device on the market -- in the Galaxy Round (pictured) -- but on November 6, the Korean mobile producer revealed its prototype folding screens to a small group of investors. An attendee described a smartphone-size screen folding in half, and a tablet-sized device folding to the size of a wallet, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Courtesy Samsung
The folding drone —
Last year, Danish firm Sky-Watch showed off the Huginn X1: a 50cm reconnaissance drone that folds up to fit in a backpack. The U.S. military also has its own folding drone in service -- the 2kg Switchblade drone -- which can be used by soldiers in the field to scout out and attack enemy positions.
courtesy sky-watch
The folding e-bike —
The folding bike has become a common sight in city centers the world over, and electric bikes are increasingly in demand, too. Gocycle has managed to combine the two, creating the G2, an electrically assisted bicycle that can power you over a range of up to 40 miles and fold into a compact block.
Courtesy GoCycle
The folding airplane —
We've all folded a paper plane and watched with pride as it soars through the air. But what if the plane was a fully functioning full-sized aircraft? Well, the Icon A5 is exactly that. With folding wings, the airplane is compact enough to be stored in a garage and towed along the freeway. The plane in due to enter production next year.
Courtesy Icon A5
The folding car —
Hiriko, the folding car, started life as the MIT CityCar concept, designed to help reduce parking problems in urban environments. It looks like it's going places, with German Railway network Deutsche Bahn signed up to pilot test the electric mini-vehicle. The Hiriko contracts, bringing its back wheels closer to the front to make parking easier.
GEORGES GOBET/AFP/Getty Images
Folding... anything? —
Designers Skylar Tibbits and Marcelo Coelho looked at the current generation of miniature personal 3D printers and asked how they could fulfill their big potential to create large-scale objects. The answer: folding chains, which click together to create objects far bigger than the printer bed. The team managed to print a 50ft (15.2m) chain in a desktop 3D printer bed, and assemble some extraordinary structures.
