Kirigami-inspired parachute design. Nature Video & David Mélançon on LinkedIn
Engineers from Polytechnique Montréal have unveiled a new parachute concept based on kirigami, the Japanese art of folding and cutting.
The design is simple, robust, and low-cost, with potential to transform humanitarian aid deliveries and even space exploration.
Professors David Mélançon and Frédérick Gosselin from Polytechnique’s Department of Mechanical Engineering led the project.
Their team cut a plastic sheet with a “closed-loop” kirigami pattern, giving it new mechanical properties. In free fall, the sheet deforms into an upside-down bell when a weight is attached at its center.
“One advantage of this parachute is that it quickly stabilizes and doesn’t pitch, regardless of the release angle,” Mélançon said. “And unlike conventional parachutes, it follows a strict ballistic descent trajectory.”
The parachute relies on a single suspension line rather than many cords, which reduces tangling and speeds up deployment.
“We made these parachutes by laser cutting, but a simple die-cutting press would also do the trick,” Mélançon said. “What’s more, the parachute is seamless and is attached to the payload by a single suspension line, making it easy to use and to deploy.”
The researchers tested prototypes in simulations, wind tunnels, laboratory trials, and outdoor drone drops.
They observed that the descent path remained straight and predictable.
Humanitarian and space potential
The team sees multiple uses for the parachute. Deliveries of food, water, and medicine to remote regions stand out as the most immediate application.
The low production cost makes large-scale deployment feasible. “The kirigami-patterned parachute could prove to be the best solution for this type of use,” Mélançon said.
The researchers also pointed to potential roles in parcel delivery and planetary exploration. Unlike conventional parachutes, which often drift, the kirigami design lands close to the target.
Gosselin explained that the parachute’s unique inverted bell shape is crucial to its performance. The kirigami cuts stretch open during free fall, creating many small slits that allow air to pass through in an orderly way.
This prevents the formation of large turbulent swirls that can destabilize a conventional canopy.
The result is a smooth airflow that keeps the parachute steady and its descent highly predictable, even under varying conditions.
He also pointed out that the design scales without losing its properties. Tests showed that the parachute behaves consistently whether it is small or significantly larger, making it a flexible option for many uses.
According to Gosselin, this opens the door to developing larger-scale models suitable for heavier payloads or broader applications.
Designing new flight paths
The project began when Gosselin attended a U.S. conference where a researcher showed how kirigami patterns alter plastic sheets.
He later discussed the idea with French collaborator Sophie Ramananarivo. When Mélançon, a specialist in foldable structures, joined Polytechnique, the two developed the idea into a full project.
Several students, including master’s candidate Danick Lamoureux, contributed by adjusting patterns and running trials.
Their work showed how the design could maintain stability and land with precision.
Now the Montréal team wants to go further. They plan to experiment with new cut patterns to alter descent styles.
“We want to change the patterns in order to go even further: the parachutes could descend in a spiral, for example, or glide before dropping,” Mélançon said.
He added that trajectories could be customized depending on payloads, even allowing midair sorting of cargo.
With its combination of simplicity, stability, and cost-efficiency, the kirigami parachute may soon find its place in both relief missions and advanced aerospace tests.
The study is published in the journal Nature.
MasterCard
/w=3840,quality=90,fit=scale-down)
