Origami principles lead to rigid, flat-folding shopping bag

The project started off as a mathematical curiosity for Dr Zhong You, a lecturer at Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science, but it may have important implications for the packaging industry.

Many consumer products are packed in cartons made of rigid sheet materials less flexible than paper. Typically, these cartons are box shaped, made with both the top and bottom open to allow flat packing, with the base being assembled separately.

‘This can be quite laborious, in particular if you are moving house and using cardboard boxes, but even more so on the factory assembly line,’ said You, adding that a solution could speed up automated packing in many industries.

Indeed, the challenge of making a rigid, open-topped cardboard box that can be folded flat without having to open its bottom is a long-standing one.

In 2004, a mathematician from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proposed a theoretical solution to the problem; however, the formula specified an infinitely thin sheet material and so could never be practically made. You, a civil engineer by training, used his experience of making models to tackle the problem.