Japanese Paper Art Inspires Sun-Tracking Solar Cell

Japanese paper art is typically used to create dainty folded cranes and paper snowflakes, but now, researchers are using it to inspire innovations in the energy world. Scientists from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (UM) have used the ancient art of paper cutting, known as kirigami, to create a unique thin-film solar cell that can use a method of following the sun called optical tracking. The idea was initially hatched by Matt Shlian, one of the authors of the new study and a professor i