Research ofPattern Formation, edited by R. Takaki, pp. 77-90.

© KTK Scientific Publishers

Map Fold a La Miura Style, Its Physical Characteristics

and Application to the Space Science*

Koryo MIURA **

Institute ofSpace and Astronautical Science, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan

Abstract. In this paper, the author presents a novel method of folding maps, its
physical characteristics, and the similar method applied to the space science.
Firstly, an introduction is given about a geometric surface which was discovered in
the process of studying the mathematical theory of elasticity. Secondly, the
proposed method of folding maps and its characteristics are described in detail.
Finally, the application of the surface to the space structures, such as solar arrays
and solar sails, are explained.

1. Introduction

Of maps that are inscribed on paper, the oldest one now existing is said to be
one that represents a gold mine in the Nubian district, Egypt (Fig. 1). On the map,
one can notice some parallel and equidistant lines extending lengthwise, apparently
without any significant connection with the descriptions on the map. One may
wonder what these lines mean.
It is possible that these lines are folds ofthe map, as can be inferred from their
being parallel and equidistant. In any way, it seems certain that ancient people, like
modem people, also attempted to fold up a map in various ways.
In the process of studying the mathematical theory of elasticity, the author
discovered a peculiar geometrical surface (Miura, 1970; Tanizawa and Miura,
1978). Since this surface has an isometric nature that can be applied to a deployable

* This paper was presented at the First International Meeting of Origami Science and Technology,
Ferrara, Italy, December 6-7, 1989.
** Professor and Director, Research Division of Space Transportation.
78 Chapter 2

Fig. 1. Map ofa gold mine in the Nubian district (a collection in Milano Museum, in the form ofpapyrus).

mechanism, I pursued the theoretical study aiming at such applications to packing

large space structures like solar power arrays and space radars.
In this paper the author presents, as a practical application ofthis geometrical
surface to map folding, a novel folding method essentially different from conventional
ones, and detailed description of its features. In addition, the application of this
surface to the space science is described briefly (Miura, 1978).

2. Geometry of Map Folding

By applying an external force, a sheet ofpaper can very easily be folded up or

down, at any angle with respect to the surface of the paper. But the basic nature is
that it hardly produces any stretch on its surface. Assuming an ideal paper that
neither stretches nor contracts at all, then the process of paper folding can be
described, in terms of geometry, as the isometric transfer of a plane. The isometric
transfer is a transformation of a surface into another without producing stretch or
contraction, and without resorting to cutting or conjoining. These conditions are the
same as for both traditional paperworks (Origami) and maps. In the case of map
folding, however, some additional conditions are required. A map should be folded
in such a way that the transformed surface must also be a plane macroscopically,
and have a smaller dimension, lengthwise or broadwise, than the original surface.
Within the knowledge of the author, it seems that there has been, from old
times, fundamentally only one method of folding a map. In this method, a set of
Cartesian coordinates (x,y) is appropriately assumed on the plane ofthe paper, then
 Map Fold a La Miura Style 79

the paper is folded up in the x direction along folds parallel to the y axis, and in the
y direction along folds parallel to the x axis. The order of folding can be chosen as
desired. The paper must be deployed by following the same process in the reversed
order. If a map ofthis folding is completely deployed into a plane sheet, it is found
that the folds are two sets of parallel lines at right angles to each other, forming
rectangular sections on the plane ofpaper. Thus, we will hereafter call this kind of
folding "orthogonal folding".

3. Some Problems in Orthogonal Folding

We know that there are some problems in the orthogonal folding ofa map. One
ofthe problems is ofhuman engineering nature. The action offolding and unfolding
a map requires a considerably complicated motion of hands and fingers. In Fig. 2
is shown the loci, as recorded with an exposure camera, of motion of two thumbs
in unfolding a map oforthogonal folding. The motion is, ofcourse, more complicated
in folding it. Complicated motion is inconvenient, particularly in the open air or in
a limited space such as inside a car.

Fig. 2. Loci of two thumbs in unfolding a map of orthogonal folding.

Another problem is connected with what may be called stability of folds.

Consider a folded map being unfolded flatwise. When the map is folded again, it
frequently occurs that the concavity or convexity of a fold turns out the wrong way
around, and the map can not be restored to the original state. It is for this reason that
what may be called stability of folds is required in folding a map.
Finally, orthogonal folds place a lot of stress on the paper inducing, almost
without exception, tears which begin where two folds intersect.
 Cha pter 2

4. A Particular Polyhedral Surface and Its Application to Map Folding

There is a polyhedra l surface having a very singular feature. It has been known
amo ng lovers of Origam i, however, the exa ct characteristics of the surface has not
been studied. The author re-disco vered the surface, so to say , from the viewpoint
of theory of elasticity and geometry (Fig . 3). It is called the deve lopable do uble
corrugation surface (DOC surface). Becau se only the geometric nature of this
surface has bearing on our present proble m, in what follows we see the surface only
in this light.

Fig. 3. Concave polyhedral surface of a particular nature.

In an accor dio n curta in, we may find an example of the most common way of
folding up a plane in a fixed direc tion. Cons ider a sheet of idea l paper ass umed to
have no thickness. Folding up this pap er infini tesimally close ly will resu lt in a
straight line. In a word, thi s way of fold ing is equivalent to the transformation of a
plane into a straight line. The orthogo nal folding a map is, therefore, nothing but two
successive transformations of this sort in two mutually perpe ndic ular d irections.
Is there a way in which a plane can be folded in two mutually perpendicular
directions simultaneously? At firsttho ught, one can hardly believe such a poss ibility,
but the above-mentioned concave po lyhedra l surface does give a solution. In Fig.
4 there are a series of pictures showing how a plane is folded up and contracts itself
lengthwise and broadwise simultaneously. The intermediate product of this process
is a concave poly hedra l surface consisting of a number of parallelograms. If it is
folded up infin itesimally closely, then it will be folded up into a po int. Co nclusive ly,
folding of this sort corre sponds to transfor mation of a plan e into a point.
A remarka ble fact to be noted here is that the folds or contractions in two
 Map Fold a La Miura Style 81

Fig. 4. Folding a plane in two directions.

mutually perp endicular direction s are not independent to each other. The contra c-
tion in the x direction should always be accompanied by the contraction in the y
direction, and vice versa. In contrast, the folding in the x and y direction s are
completely independent in the case of the ortho gonal folding.
This particul ar DOC surface is composed of repetition ofa minimum unit or
a fundamental region . 1t is what composed of four con gruent parallelograms as
shown in Fig. 5. The whol e surface is formed by parallel transform ations in the x
and y direction s.
Consider a sheet of paper so folded that it forms a DDC surface, and see the
motion of an arbitr ary fundamental region. When a fundamental region is given
some deformati on, {or instance , by mak ing the fold angle sharper, the adjacent
fundamental regions will undergo exactly the same deform ation, which , in turn,
causes further deform ation to the fundamental regions adjacent to each of the
deformed region s. Thus, in theory it is seen that the deformation given to a particul ar
82 Chapter 2

Fig. 5. Fundamental region of a concave polyhedral surface.

fundamental region will propagate over the entire surface in a second. A sheet of
paper, when so folded, behaves as if it has a linkage mechanism built into it to fold
or deploy itself. To fold it, it is necessary only to fold anyone of the fundamental
region.
In practice, the deformation in some part of the paper will not propagate to
infinitely remote regions, but undergoes increasing attenuation with distance from
the part at which the original deformation is initiated. In order to apply this method
of folding to a practical map, it is necessary to make this attenuation as small as
possible.
Generally, a map is rectangular in shape. To deploy a map folded up into a
nne surface, letus always pull the map at both ends ofthe diagonal ofthe rectangle.
This will give an equal and simultaneous deformation to all the fundamental regions
along the diagonal. Because these fundamental regions along the diagonal and those
in their direct neighborhood cover the main part ofthe map, the desired deformation
can be propagated, without decay, to most parts of the map.
In Fig. 6 there are a series of pictures showing the process of deployment of
a map folded up in this way. Figure 7 shows the loci of two thumbs in the process
ofFig. 6. Compared with the corresponding loci, shown in Fig. 2, for the case ofthe
orthogonal folding, the movement of thumbs in this case is much smoother and
simpler. Actual handling of the map is also so smooth that one feels as if the map
folds and deploys itself automatically. Just a sheet of ordinary paper, ifgiven these
special folds, will move as if given a life.

5. Other Features of the New Method of Folding

By its inherent nature, the new method of folding gives an answer to the
problem of fold stability discussed earlier. We assume that each fold has a sign of
plus or minus depending on whether it is convex or concave, respectively. Consider
what will happen when the sign of an arbitrary fold is reversed, for instance, a fold
marked e in Fig. 8a changes from concave to convex. This will necessitate reversal
 Map Fold a La Miura Sty le 83

f ig. 6. Deployment of the new folded map.

Fig. 7. Loci of two thumbs in unfo ldin g the ncvv· folded map .
84 Chapter 2

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- - - - - --.+-------t-
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Fig. 8. Reversal of folding and the corresponding signs.

ofall other folds, f, g, and h, having a nodal point in common with e. The reason for
this simultaneous reversal lies in the fact that, when four folds have a nodal point
in common, there are only two possible combinations offold signs, as illustrated in
Figs. 8b and 8c. The reversal of sign at fold g in Fig. 8a will in tum necessitate
reversal ofthree folds, i.j, andk. In this way, reversal ofan arbitrary fold necessarily
leads to reversal of all the other folds on the map. Because such a situation should
have a rare chance to occur, the initial fold remains unchanged. In other words, the
fold is stable.
One can feel the truth of the above statement by actually manipulating a map
folded up by this method. Moreover, one may feel as ifthere were a kind ofmemory
built into the folded map, which precisely remembers all the signs originally
assigned to the folds.
With regards to the strength of folds, the folded map under consideration has
an essentially advantageous feature. In the case of the orthogonal folding, that
portion ofthe paper which thrusts itselfdeeply inside the second fold causes a large
tensile stress at the nodal point, whereas in the present case, only a single sheet of
paper will come beneath the second fold, and with less depth. This helps reduce the
 Map Fold a La Miura Style 85

above-mentioned tensile stress by a large margin. In addition, the inherent nature

of immunity from fold reversal further contributed to the fold strength. As a result,
the folds in our case is much stronger than those in the case ofthe orthogonal folding,
and less vulnerable to breaking due to fatigue.
As a drawback to all these advantages, a weak point in our method of folding
is that it can not be unfolded partially. This nature is inseparably related to the
mechanism of deployment in our folding method and, therefore, unavoidable.

6. How to Fold a Map

Since our new folding is based on a form precisely determined by the

geometric law, it will not start folding in a desultory manner. The basic step in
design is to determine the parallelogram that will constitute the fundamental region,
and then to assign positive or negative sign to its sides, or folds. There are three
independent variables in a parallelogram. Other parameters are the initial size and
the folded size of the map.
In order to determine these parameters, one must take into consideration the
following factors:
1) Maneuverability in folding and unfolding
2) Thickness and stiffness and other characteristics of paper
3) Choice of the comer to be pulled out
4) Number of parallelograms in the directions of width and length (odd
number is preferable)
As it is not the purpose ofthis paper to go into the details ofdesign, let us restrict
ourselves to a typical design, taking as example the widely used 1/50000 or 1/25000
topographical map issued by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan (Fig. 9).
The first publication of the map in a form of our new design was made in
corporation with Ollivetti Corporation of Japan and Godo Works Company. It is a
map of Venezia designed by Jinnai and Watanabe, both are architects. We have
developed an experimental "origami machine" for the purpose of folding maps.
Attempts are made on folding maps by high speed automatic machines, however,
it will need some time before developing a feasible mass production method.
Presently, the map fold in this style is called "Miura-ori", where "ori" is the
Japanese word of"fold". There are a few proposed methods of folding it manually.
Among them the method conceived by Professor Natori of Institute of Space and
Astronautical Science is seemed to be the best. The illustration in Fig. 10demonstrates
his method applied to a sheet of standard size (A or B series) paper.

7. Application to Space Technology

Large planer membranes are mandatory for many space missions in the near
future. Solar arrays, solar power satellites, solar sails, space radars are typical
examples. Therefore, the technology necessary for the construction and packing of
86 Chapter 2

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88 Chapter 2

Fig. 11. 2-D imensionul deployable array experiment in space .

Fig. 12. So lar wai l uses simila r method of fold ing its wa il.
 M ap Fold a La Miura Style 89

these large memhrane s on the ground and their deployment in space must be
estahlished. The technology used for folding map s described in the previou s
sections was originally invented in order to cope with such problems of packing
large membr ane space structures (Miura, 1980).
For the purpo se of testing its feasibilit y, the project is under way to launch a
two-dimensional deployable array on board the space flyer unit (SFU) scheduled
for 1994 (Fig. II). It is a 6 x 6 meters square, thin membrane solar cell array which
will be simultaneously deployed in two orthogonal directi ons. In this figure, one can
observe that the fundamental unit is a parallelogram. Another application of this
technology is the fabrication, packaging, and deployment of a huge sail made of
very thin memhrane for a solar sail spacecraft. The design of a solar sail spacecraft
for the propo sed moon race by the Solar Sail Union of Japan is based on this
technology (Fig. 12).

8. Afterword

It is worth while, here, to add a few words about this new method of folding
from different viewpoint. It is about the meaning of paper of this form as a printed
media. Since the first publ ication of our research, a number of interested persons
have contributed their comments on the subjec t. The most impressive among them
is a notion that the map of this folding may give a new form to the "book" in a hroad
sense ofthe word, rather than being merely a map . As an attempt at realization, the
author has recently published a catalog for the Exhibition " Koryo Miura-Structural

Fig , 13. A catalog for the exhibition in the new fold design.
90 Chapter 2

Forms in Space" in this style (Fig. 13). This design gained general acceptance
among the people.

Acknowledgment

The author would like to give his thanks to Mr. M. Sakamaki of Institute of
Space and Astronautical Science, Dr. K. Tanizawa of Mitsubishi Electric Corpo-
ration, and K. Suzuki, President of Godo Works, for their invaluable assistance to
this study.

REFERENCES

Miura, K., "Proposition of Pseudo-Cylindrical Concave Polyhedral Shells," lASS Symposium on

Folded Plates and Prismatic Structures, Vienna, September-October, 1970.
Miura, K., "The Fun of Map Folding," Spazio No. 19, December, 1978.
Miura, K., "Method of Packaging and Deployment of Large Membrane in Space," Paper A 31-1,
International Astronautical Congress of the IAF, Tokyo, Japan, 1980.
Tanizawa, K. and Miura, K., "Large Displacement Configurations ofBi-Axially Compressed Infinite
Plate," Transaction of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences, Vol. 20, No. 50,
1978.