Geometric
Folding Tent

First, I identified a problem: Throughout my extensive backpacking experiences, and when talking with other backpackers, I've been continually frustrated by the difficulty of setting up conventional backpacking tents in unideal conditions (rain, darkness, wind, etc.), and the lack of alternatives and solutions available in the market. Accordingly, I decided to develop a solution.

I began by researching simple yet strong folding geometric shapes in natural biological structures (mostly flowers and plants) and traditional origami. After extensive researcg, I developed multiple small conceptual prototypes of unique folding mechanism ideas, and evaluated the effectivity of each one.

Once I decided on a folding geometry, I created a moving 3D mechanical simulation on Fusion-360 to see and study folding and unfolding movements.

Next, once I proved that the mechanism worked well, and better understood the exact angles and movement involved, I designed custom self-locking joints on Fusion-360, and then 3D-printed scaled-down versions of them.

Finally, I assembled a small-scale prototype of the tent using the 3D-printed joint, wood rods, and a thin plastic sheets. With this prototype, I test the physcial deployment and storing mechanisms of the tent, and got an idea of how small the package could be be when fully folded.