UC Merced Magazine | Commemorative Chronicle

Professor Shijia Pan (le ) in the lab with graduate researcher Shubham Rohal

Imagine a future home that feels alive, where a sofa can send a gentle hug during a video call or a mat can sense a footstep and help steady your balance

Shijia Pan PROFESSOR, computer science and engineering Shubham Rohal graduate student

Imagine a future home that feels alive, where a sofa can send a gentle hug during a video call or a mat can sense a footstep and help steady your balance. To move toward this vision, Pan and Rohal created ORI (Origami-inspired Responsive Interface), a system that turns everyday surfaces into smart, touch-responsive environments. Instead of packing objects with arrays of sensors, ORI uses the folding patterns of Miura-Ori origami with embedded conductive threads to sense and respond through touch. Supported by a Hellman Fellows Award, the project has earned major recognition, awards and a patent application.

UCMERCED MAGAZINE 24