"Wyrd" Cougar Compliant Mechanism

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The Wyrd Cougar is an origami-inspired compliant mechanism developed by the BYU CMR lab. The Cougar is a perfect example of the flexibility of compliant mechanisms. When pushed to the left or right, the cougar and BYU symbol bend easily without breaking, then snap right back into place.

A Wyrd mechanism is a compliant mechanism that has motion similar to a double parallel mechanism.

These mechanisms are examples of how compliant mechanisms can be used to create specific desired motions. The BYU symbol rotates while the same force applied to the BYU symbol only causes the cougar to translate left and right. The mechanism workings are disguised by integration with various shapes (in this case, animals).

The compliant mechanism topology was developed by the BYU CMR as an illustrative example, and the motion is based on a well known rigid-link mechanism. The term "Wyrd mechanism" was coined by CMR students, and the word "wyrd" is ancestral to the modern "weird" (e.g. see Shakespeare's usage of wyrd in Macbeth).