Same concept as in this 'zipper mast' video from over 10 years ago. Surprisingly compact as each side is from flexible steel sheet that can be rolled up ala tape measure style, then connected as they unroll to form a rigid shaft. Pretty cool;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_UTV3rV-k
Is this design practical? What would it be used for? With this zipping mechanism, can anything be attached?
Edit: Apparently I stopped watching the video too early. They demonstrate some uses where at max only one of the three sides can be attached to something, and it is used to create a rigid structure rather than joining multiple surfaces. The most interesting use demonstrated (IMO), is a tent with no tent poles, but it doesn't look like it would hold up to any significant weather, and would probably take up just as much space and weight as tent poles.
Clicking around on news.mit.edu I see lots of cool ideas. Articles mention "the software allows users to...", yet I never see a link to actual software.
For example, I expected to be able to try that 3D-zipper generator they show in the video myself.
It brings to mind satellites assembling themselves in space. Send up a tightly packed box of spaghetti and extrude it into the desired physical shape upon arrival in orbit. For increased rigidity, paint with a solar pumped laser to weld the links together.
no kidding. it was the last demo in the video, but my first reaction seeing the zippers-instead-tent-poles demo was, "oh, that's going to be huge." weight and "how well does it handle wind?" are concerns, but i could totally see "100% zipper" tents on the market by the end of the year.
It's definitely pretty whiz bang but I'm curious how it would hold up to the dirt and grime of a backpacking trip. I'm also not convinced it is any better or lighter than poles (which can be pretty light with the right materials...)
The video showed well over a minute of manual setup time! Most dome tents of a comparable size can be set up in less time than that. Elastic cords help pull the poles together, you put the ends into the grommets and clip the tent body on.
They never show the fully packaged version of the tent, though. It looks like even in their non-rigid state they're too rigid to be folded up easily and carelessly into a compact shape.
Very cool design but that tent looks heavy as hell and not at all wind resistant. The whole point of the poles in a dome tent is to provide force stretching the tent button (especially when staked down) to be drum tight. The poles being straight and then bent when assembled is the point.
That being said maybe this could make for some very cool different types of designs
wow this looks incredible. love learning about this kind of stuff— no shortage of clever ideas just waiting out there in the ether for someone to make work!
> ... the Y-Zipper, a 3D-printed, three-sided fastener that can snap a floppy, flexible structure into a rigid, load-bearing beam with one smooth pull.
Not a mechanical engineer, but I'd figure both the "rigid" and "load-bearing" aspects will be far poorer than conventional beams of the same size and weight.
This might be one of those cases where it solves for problem spaces that aren't being considered yet.
What I mean by that is in the case of soft robotics, it was developments in manufacturing techniques for the inflated leading edge of kitesurfing kites, that unlocked the capabilities to make soft robots more feasible.
Depends on the material that is being used and application. I could see this being highly useful for tents and similar fabric structures. I probably would not build a satellite solar panel structure/frame with them (atomic oxygen is a nasty critter) but for some lightweight terrestrial applications I can see much potential.
For example, if you used PLA you'd get a stiffer, more mechanically-rigid structure in the zipped-up state. If you used TPU, you'd get a more flexible and elastic structure. I'd want PLA for tent seams and TPU for the door zipper.
Theoretically it could be because the structure could be held in compression while zipped. But the reality of imperfect manufacturing tolerances and the limits of how difficult to zip you can make a zipper and still be usable makes me think not.
Same concept as in this 'zipper mast' video from over 10 years ago. Surprisingly compact as each side is from flexible steel sheet that can be rolled up ala tape measure style, then connected as they unroll to form a rigid shaft. Pretty cool; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_UTV3rV-k
ah the packbot. I remember working on that.
Zippers are usually attached to something.
Is this design practical? What would it be used for? With this zipping mechanism, can anything be attached?
Edit: Apparently I stopped watching the video too early. They demonstrate some uses where at max only one of the three sides can be attached to something, and it is used to create a rigid structure rather than joining multiple surfaces. The most interesting use demonstrated (IMO), is a tent with no tent poles, but it doesn't look like it would hold up to any significant weather, and would probably take up just as much space and weight as tent poles.
Poles. The video shows a tent they set up just by zipping up the y zipper.
Also a stuck zipper now means your entire tent becomes useless.
I thought the extendable robot legs were the most interesting use with how compact the legs are when retracted
Extremely similar to a rigid chain actuator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigid_chain_actuator
Is any of MIT's stuff "open"?
Clicking around on news.mit.edu I see lots of cool ideas. Articles mention "the software allows users to...", yet I never see a link to actual software.
For example, I expected to be able to try that 3D-zipper generator they show in the video myself.
Edit: found something:
https://github.com/tichaesque/FabObscura
It brings to mind satellites assembling themselves in space. Send up a tightly packed box of spaghetti and extrude it into the desired physical shape upon arrival in orbit. For increased rigidity, paint with a solar pumped laser to weld the links together.
> For increased rigidity, paint with a solar pumped laser to weld the links together.
Or unseal purified metal surfaces, press them together, and use vacuum diffusion welding.
With enough time and/or sunlight, it can happen on its own.
My first thought is a better tape measure. Wouldn’t that be cool if it didn’t bend.
Just sell me the tent already!
no kidding. it was the last demo in the video, but my first reaction seeing the zippers-instead-tent-poles demo was, "oh, that's going to be huge." weight and "how well does it handle wind?" are concerns, but i could totally see "100% zipper" tents on the market by the end of the year.
The durability is not great in the current version. In the last 2 seconds of the video you can see a broken off chunk of zipper left on the ground.
It's definitely pretty whiz bang but I'm curious how it would hold up to the dirt and grime of a backpacking trip. I'm also not convinced it is any better or lighter than poles (which can be pretty light with the right materials...)
Even if it weren't lighter, it might be faster to set up and take down.
The video showed well over a minute of manual setup time! Most dome tents of a comparable size can be set up in less time than that. Elastic cords help pull the poles together, you put the ends into the grommets and clip the tent body on.
I could see this being useful for retractable banners also
They never show the fully packaged version of the tent, though. It looks like even in their non-rigid state they're too rigid to be folded up easily and carelessly into a compact shape.
I could see it easily being rolled up into a compact if long tube which would be a lot easier to transport.
Very cool design but that tent looks heavy as hell and not at all wind resistant. The whole point of the poles in a dome tent is to provide force stretching the tent button (especially when staked down) to be drum tight. The poles being straight and then bent when assembled is the point.
That being said maybe this could make for some very cool different types of designs
https://patents.google.com/patent/US4757577A/en
The extendable/retractible robot legs/arms is a great application for this. Though, reminds me of the Sentinels in The Matix.
Very cool, reminds of protein folding.
wow this looks incredible. love learning about this kind of stuff— no shortage of clever ideas just waiting out there in the ether for someone to make work!
Zipper? Combinator then?
This makes me think of microtubules.
Meanwhile over at YKK Japan...
The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years (2025)
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45634797
Wish I could zoom in on the photo on mobile. What kind of crap web design is this?
I am using firefox on Android + ubo. Enable zoom on all sites in accessibility settings.
I suggest reading the original linked article, if only because it includes a video with the zipper in action:
https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504
Thanks! let's change the URL to that from https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-i... and we'll put that link and the video in the toptext.
This is worth doing because I'm about to re-up the thread a la https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308.
Direct link to video. These are some freaking cool zippers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWig98GVIno
Thanks.
This reads like it’s been machine generated.
(This comment was made when the top link was https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-i.... We've since changed the link to https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504)
i thought so as well; my eyes were beginning to glaze over. the MIT article talking about it is a much better read.
> ... the Y-Zipper, a 3D-printed, three-sided fastener that can snap a floppy, flexible structure into a rigid, load-bearing beam with one smooth pull.
Not a mechanical engineer, but I'd figure both the "rigid" and "load-bearing" aspects will be far poorer than conventional beams of the same size and weight.
This might be one of those cases where it solves for problem spaces that aren't being considered yet.
What I mean by that is in the case of soft robotics, it was developments in manufacturing techniques for the inflated leading edge of kitesurfing kites, that unlocked the capabilities to make soft robots more feasible.
Depends on the material that is being used and application. I could see this being highly useful for tents and similar fabric structures. I probably would not build a satellite solar panel structure/frame with them (atomic oxygen is a nasty critter) but for some lightweight terrestrial applications I can see much potential.
Interesting, which material?
It looks like this could be made from any metal, where the small segments are connected together like links of a chain.
For example, if you used PLA you'd get a stiffer, more mechanically-rigid structure in the zipped-up state. If you used TPU, you'd get a more flexible and elastic structure. I'd want PLA for tent seams and TPU for the door zipper.
Is PLA stiffer somehow in this state than it would be as a conventional beam?
Theoretically it could be because the structure could be held in compression while zipped. But the reality of imperfect manufacturing tolerances and the limits of how difficult to zip you can make a zipper and still be usable makes me think not.
I don't want door zippers, I want a door!