Bioinspired Origami Wing

This project focuses on developing a bio‑inspired, origami‑based foldable wing for UAVs, drawing inspiration from the highly efficient hindwing folding mechanism of ladybird beetles. Ladybugs can compact large, rigid wings into small storage volumes thanks to specialized tape‑spring‑like veins that store elastic energy and allow the bending point to shift along the wing, enabling both reliable folding and structural strength during flight. Emulating this natural system, our team designed a mechanical origami wing structure that captures the same geometric folding behavior while using engineered materials and patterned creases to achieve controlled, compact collapse. Through simulation, strain visualization, and motion‑capture analysis, we modeled the forces and deformation across the wing surface and demonstrated that our prototype can achieve up to an 83.4% fold when actuated with weighted loading, effectively reducing its span while maintaining mechanical integrity. This work highlights how biological inspiration combined with origami engineering can address the spatial constraints of UAV design and serves as a foundation for future deployable aerospace structures.