Mechanical engineers at Brigham Young University created a man-portable and lightweight bulletproof shield that was inspired by origami. The shield is flat when stowed, but quickly folds up to an encompasing shield made of 12 layers of Kevlar fabric.
In testing the barrier was capable of stopping loads upwards of .44 Magnum, making it roughly equivalent to Level IIIA body armor in protective capability.
While there’s likely still some development to undergo before this becomes a fully-realized product, it shows great promise, especially if the positive response from the Law Enforcement agents testing the device is anything to go by.
