STILFOLD introduces AI to empower “industrial origami” design and manufacturing technology
STILFOLD - the Swedish startup renowned for its origami-inspired approach to design and manufacturing - is joining forces with Linköping University to optimise the performance of its sustainable manufacturing technology using artificial intelligence.
The STILFOLD technology, dubbed “industrial origami”, involves the use of robotic arms to fold flat sheet metal over curves to form light and sustainable new structures using minimal component parts. The technology is currently being used to build the chassis of a light electric motorcycle called the STILRIDE 1, the world’s first climate-neutral car with Polestar, and to develop greener urban mobility infrastructure with Alstom.
Currently, the proprietary “STILWARE” software enables designers to create folding instructions for a given design, before it is folded into shape. Now, STILFOLD will now work with Linköping University to empower and automate elements through AI and optimize material behavior, process parameters, machine interactions, and control strategies.
They will create an AI model which can predict the optimal sequence of folds which should be used to produce any given shape. They will also work to enhance STILFOLD’s existing technology infrastructure to optimise how its robots are programmed to create folds.
STILFOLD will train their models on new and existing data from the steel industry - as well as proprietary STILFOLD data including the outcomes of different folding patterns, as well as how different materials respond to different folding techniques.
STILFOLD will to do this integrate digital twin technology, reinforcement learning (RL), and detailed material models embedded in physics-informed neural networks (PINN), to deliver advanced computational tools. As a result it will make it even easier for STILFOLD users to use the curve-folding technology to build robust and complex designs.
The project is being backed by Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, who will be injecting 10 million SEK into the project as part of their Advanced Digitalization programme.
Earlier this year, the first STILFOLD machine was sold to Georgia Tech’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the USA, where it will be used by students and academics for education and innovation.
Jonas Nyvang, CEO and co-founder at STILFOLD comments -
"AI can help us optimise the entire STILFOLD process over time, and help us find ways to improve and improve the process depending on the material used. It's a very exciting project for us. We want to push the boundaries of how AI can be used in the manufacturing and mobility industries going forward.
"To have a chance of reaching future climate goals, we must take giant leaps, especially in these sectors. We possess a technology that could be such a giant leap for a large part of the industry, but it also requires completely new ways of thinking about tools and technology.”
The project, operating under the working name ODEN-AI (Optimized Digitalization for Environmentally NeutrAI Industrialization), is scheduled to run until 2026. Besides Linköping University and STILRIDE, Outokumpu (STILFOLD’s steel partner) and Jernkontoret will contribute expertise to the project.
In addition to this project, Vinnova has granted a research project for STILFOLD trials of recycled aluminium, as part of the “LIGHTer” strategic innovation program coordinated by Research Institutes of Sweden AB (RISE). The investment is aimed at bolstering the expertise and capabilities of Swedish enterprises, enabling them to evolve into highly specialised suppliers of lightweight solutions for Swedish industry.
STILFOLD has also been awarded a prestigious EIT Manufacturing Grant of €816,000 to further develop their technology and software. The grant is dedicated to projects that are pushing the boundaries of “Environmentally Sustainable Manufacturing through Circular Business Models and New Technologies”.
The addition of these grants bring STILFOLD and STILRIDE’s total funding to date to 10 MEUR.
Ends
Notes to Editors
About STILFOLD
STILFOLD is a design and technology company based in Stockholm, Sweden. STILFOLD is the parent company of STILRIDE: the startup building lightweight electromobility products using the STILFOLD technology.
STILFOLD's patented "industrial origami" technology involves the use of robots to build complex structures by folding flat sheet metal. This method enables efficient and sustainable manufacturing, leveraging computational design and advanced robotics.
Jonas Nyvang
CEO
+46707663022
jonas@stilride.com
STILRIDE is a Swedish technology and design company that will soon launch its first product, the electric motorcycle STILRIDE 1. STILRIDE 1 is also the first product to take advantage of the company's own and unique manufacturing process STILFOLD, where an origami-style process is utilized to shape advanced constructions from sheets of steel. The process not only creates extremely durable constructions, but also enables environmentally friendly and local production. STILRIDE was founded in 2020 by Tue Beijer and Jonas Nyvang.
