Noda: Turgid Joint System

What it does

Noda is a turgid joint system allows for the rapid building of emergency structures/frames for displaced families, designed with shelter transition in mind, potentially adapting to their needs even after moving into better shelters.

Your inspiration

Noda didn’t start off by trying to solve a problem. It started by investigating the movements of organisms in nature and their joints; learning from both nature and product design to invent a new joint. These led to the inspiration of the turgidity of plants, how plant cells swell up when given water, allowing the stem to be structurally stable yet offer a degree of flexibility. While designing Noda, I realised that it could be a potential emergency shelter solution for displaced families as they could find themselves living in tents for up to months or even years, in such shelters that may not be designed for transition.

How it works

Noda works by simply compressing up to three 3D printed “loops” around a silicone ball, and pushing it through a connecting tube. The tension from the compression causes the joint to swell up, "jam" in place and turn stiff. These tubes then connect a network of Noda joints together to form structures that are both rigid around the joints, yet somewhat flexible as a structure. When interconnected with each other, the structures can then be draped with varying outer coverings such as lightweight waterproof canvas, tied to the holes in the loops, for extra protection, serving as a temporary emergency shelter that can be built with minimal manpower potentially within minutes depending on the scale. Furthermore, when displaced families move into more permanent shelters, Noda structures can be reassembled into pieces of utility or privacy such as partitions or clothes racks, further serving the people past its intended purpose.

Design process

Noda started as an observation of how organisms moved in nature, which led to investigation of joints that facilitated such movements. This inspired the idea of learning from both joints in nature and product design to invent a new joint. Further experimentations on joints lead to one on constraining a ball-and-socket joint, with the question on whether constraining a joint with such high degree of mobility would have any applicable value, which lead to the concept of jamming. Experiments with both rigid (e.g. positional/structural) and soft (e.g. elastic/inflation) jamming led an early prototype of connected frames that allowed for the same degree of freedom like a ball-socket joint, yet could be jammed into position by inflating an elastic core. During this process I realised that this was similar to how plant cells turn turgid when water is introduced. However, inflating required a pressurized air supply, which was an over-complication. The breakthrough came when I decided to reverse the interaction by compressing the elastic core instead. The resulting tension was strong enough to jam external elements connected to it. This led to intense refinement of each element that made up the current prototype of Noda: the loops, core, and connecting elements.

How it is different

Compared to most joints, barring flexible expansion industrial pipes and small-scale children toys, Noda exhibit properties that are not often found in structural joints: being locally rigid yet flexible as a whole. Even joints that allow for movement on one or more axis, such as ball-socket joints, are not flexible in nature. Noda does not require screws, bolts or rivets for it to work, unlike many conventional joints. Its simple interaction allows for smaller structures of 2-3 metres tall to be built with minimal help, where multiple people are usually required to do the same. When built, the structures created by Noda enters a space that seems to be underexplored, barring tentages. In terms of temporary emergency shelters, unlike tents which are usually retrieved when families move into more permanent shelters, Noda structures can be reassembled into pieces of utility or privacy such as partitions, further serving the people past its intended purpose.

Future plans

I would like to further improve on Noda in its current application as there are still many things to work on. I would also like to explore various materials that could further enhance its applications. Since Noda is defined as a joint system, I believe there are many potential applications where Noda can similarly be applied to, and I would like to explore those as well. Future developments, if successful, could be developed and manufactured. The prize will go a long way in the research, development, prototyping and testing of the concept. I personally believe that there is a huge potential for Noda to be helpful to the lives of people.

Awards

Noda has been invited to be displayed at the upcoming Singapore Design Week 2025.