Origami Kevlar shield stops .44 Magnum

News

Engineers at Brigham Young University have developed an origami-inspired ballistic shield that can protect multiple people from gunfire.

Designed to be portable, the device weighs 25kg and folds almost flat when not in use. It has 12 layers of Kevlar surrounding an aluminium core and uses a Yoshimura origami crease pattern to expand. Deployment takes approximately five seconds, with the shield providing protection from the side as well as the front.

“We worked with a federal special agent to understand what their needs were, as well as SWAT teams, police officers and law enforcement, and found that the current solutions are often too heavy and not as portable as they would like,” said Larry Howell, professor of mechanical engineering at BYU.

“We wanted to create something that was compact, portable, lightweight and worked really well to protect them.”

The team tested the shield on a range of handguns, including a Smith & Wesson 9mm, a .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, with the device successfully stopping bullets from all three pistols.

Register now to continue reading

Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.  

Benefits of registering

  • In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends

  • Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year

  • Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox

Register
Or continue by

Signing in with your registered email address