You’ve probably heard of origami, the Japanese art of folding paper, but have you heard of kirigami? It’s a lesser-known variation of origami that adds cutting to expand the range of possible designs, and research engineers at the Human Engineering Research Laboratories at the University of Pittsburgh are hoping it could revolutionize affordable design for custom wheelchairs. 

Led by wheelchair user and award-winning engineer Rory Cooper, HERL’s team has built a slick-looking, customizable wheelchair that can be cut and built from a single sheet of aluminum. 

“The driving motivation for the kirigami chair is to make something that’s cheaper by being easier to manufacture,” says research engineer Jessica Steinberg. “The goal is that whatever prototype ends up turning into a product, that that would be covered by insurance and that essentially we would have a higher quality wheelchair that would be customized to the person and their individual dimensions, and basically bring that higher quality of life to the people who otherwise would be stuck in a chair that’s giving them shoulder pain or [is] heavy and difficult to move around.” 

Steinberg says her team can already cut and assemble a wheelchair in around four hours, and she envisions reducing that time as they refine their processes.

Right now the kirigami wheelchair is just a prototype, but many of Cooper’s innovations have gone on to become commercially available. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest mobility product news and reviews.