Latter-day Saint Life

BYU Engineers Design “Origami” Shield to Protect Police

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“Here’s your team’s [pet project], and now someone’s pointing a gun at it,” Professor Larry Howell says. But that is what his team's project was designed for—to protect policemen against gunfire from close range.

Some things simply don’t go together: Snow shovels in Fiji. Heavy metal rock inside the library. Ballpark hot dogs slathered in caviar.

But what about ancient Japanese origami and cutting-edge law enforcement technology?

Surprisingly, engineering professors and students at Brigham Young University say the two fit as naturally as, well, peanut butter and jelly.

An engineering team at the Church-owned university has designed an origami-inspired, portable bulletproof shield that they hope will soon be protecting police officers and others during dangerous shooting situations.

Lead image from lds.org
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