MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga by Yoshiaki Ito

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga by Yoshiaki Ito is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award Koura in Hoahoa Taonga Tākaro, Kēmu me ngā Hua Runaruna Competition Category.

KouraTaonga Tākaro· 2020

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga

by Yoshiaki Ito

Client: MoFU

A' Design Award Koura Winner in Taonga Tākaro Category

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Colors

The Design

About MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga

Ko ngā Morphits (i mōhiotia mua ko MoFU) he mea tākaro hurihuri, he panga wero hinengaro hoki. Ka nekehia ēnei mea tākaro āhua tapawhā roa mai i ō rātou pouaka, ā, ka whewhera ki ngā kararehe maha pēnei i te poaka, te mākaokao, te taika, te hipopo me te tiratipa. He āhuatanga ataahua, he āhuatanga motuhake anō hoki tō ia kararehe, nā reira he kīanga ataahua rātou. Engari, kei te taupoki anō i ngā Morphits ki te āhua tapawhā tika te wero tūturu, me whai kaha hinengaro ki te whakaoti i te mahi uaua o te whakauru tika tonu i ēnei mea ki ō rātou pouaka anō.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Koura

Ko MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga te toa o te A' Design Award Koura, he whakaaetanga tino whai mana e hoatu ana ki ngā hoahoa kōeke tuatahi, whakamīharo me te hiranga. Ko ngā toa Koura he mahi tino auaha, he tirohanga mamao, he kanapa ahi, e whakaatu ana i te pūmanawa, te mātauranga me te tohungatanga o ā rātou kaihoahoa. E tūmanakohia ana ko MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga he hanganga tūnga e whakatū ana i ngā ia, he whakanuia rawa, e kawe mai ana i te uara kāore anō kia kitea. Ko tēnei hoahoa i toa i te Koura he kaupapa whakamīharo, whakahonoretia e whakawhānui ana i ngā rohe o te toi, te pūtaiao, te hoahoa me te hangarau. Ka whakaara a MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Mea Tākaro Panga i te hiahia nui, ka whakaoho i te kaingākau, ka whakatenatena i te auaha, ā, ka whakamīharo i a tātou.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: MoFU are transforming toys that are also brainteaser puzzles. Starting as identically shaped cuboids that slide out of boxes on drawers, each MoFU unfolds into a different kind of animal - pig, monkey, tiger, hippo, and giraffe. Each animal is its own character with cute and iconic features, but each is also a distinct puzzle. Folding a MoFU back into the correct cuboid shape so it can perfectly fit back into its box is a brainteasing challenge.
Dimensions & Packaging: 85mm x 70mm x 60mm when folded in their 3D-printed boxes and at their most compact. Dimensions change with various poses. The maximum possible height is the fully unfolded giraffe at 370mm, and the minimum possible height is a fully recumbent monkey at 35mm.
Tags: Toys, Animals, Ecology, Recycled, Plastic, Geometric, Abstract, Transforming, Brainteaser, Puzzle
Production Technology: MoFU are 3D-printed using 100% recycled PET plastic from water bottles using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing. The 3D-printed pieces of the toy are united by elastic bands which run through the center of each piece. The pieces are finished with polyshot surfacing and deep-dye coloring for safe use by children and maximum lifespan.
Design Challenge: I had to think about the shape of each piece very carefully and how it could fit with its neighboring piece like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Additionally all of the pieces had to be folded together into the rectangular shape of their box.
Research: Each piece of each toy had to be precisely shaped to fit with its neighboring piece like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. Pieces that approximate parts of an animal body must also be folded and nestled in a specific way, fitting perfectly together to revert to a cuboid shape.

Finding the perfect tension of the elastic bands was difficult as the pieces must freely rotate and fold, but not be at all loose. The holes bored for the bands had to be precise to the half-millimeter for the toy to function properly.
Inspiration: Japanese origami, Kumiki puzzles, Transformers.
Project Duration: MoFU project development started in Brooklyn, NY in April 2018. The first animal, a pig, was created in May 2018; the monkey was finished in September 2018; the tiger in December 2018, the hippo in March 2019, and the giraffe in Jun 2019.
Operation Flow: MoFU emerge from identically shaped boxes, but each transforms into a different animal figure with articulated joints. Elastic bands form the animals' tendons and ligaments, allowing maximum transformability and infinite possible poses.

The toys are figurines, but they are also puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty. Folding them back into the correct cuboid shape so that they can fit back into their boxes ranges from simple for a child hippo to difficult for an adult monkey.
Patents: Yoshiaki Ito
Image Credits: Photgrapes by Yoshiaki Ito, Video by Aria Wetzler and Yana Birykova