After a 40-year wait, technology finally enables three-sided zipper design

https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-year-technology-enables-sided-zipper.html

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/51541446

156 points · 27 comments · view on lemmy.world

27 Comments

unabart@sh.itjust.works · 32 pts · 104d (1 reply)

Back when i was 16 I was hoping I'd see the day when the triple zipper became a reality. I never gave up hope. Here we are today. At long last. Take my money.

a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 103d

My and my best bro's pants will never be unteathered. Just like our brohood.

blarth@thelemmy.club · 14 pts · 104d (10 replies)

Do we need this?

Ithi@lemmy.ca · 31 pts · 104d (5 replies)

If only there was an article that told us what this would help with.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 103d (2 replies)

It's a large penis thing. If you know, you know.

a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 103d (1 reply)

And vagina.

a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 103d

I am a feminist.

VieuxQueb@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 103d

One with a video showing a bunch of neat things you can do with it you say !

JennaR8r@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 104d
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mech@feddit.org · 7 pts · 104d (2 replies)

You don't even need regular zippers.
It's perfectly possible to survive without them.

SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 103d (1 reply)

Found Phil Swift's account.

whyNotSquirrel@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 103d

it's so you can get both balls caught in the zipper at the same time! I'm not sure though as I didn't read the article

thestrike@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 11 pts · 103d (4 replies)

Super cool watch the video

brax@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 103d (3 replies)

The practical usess were pretty mind-blowing.

scarabic@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 103d (2 replies)

They were neat to loook at but not very impressive in practical terms. So you can take 3 semi-floppy coiled things and turn them into one semi-rigid thing. But only one of them can be attached to something, or the actuator won’t be able to move.

The tent application is the closest one to something practical and the tent was not very rigid, nor was there any real advantage to it over conventional methods.

🤷‍♂️

brax@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 103d (1 reply)

True, but just to use them for things like adjustable legs - even as just a proof-of-concept was really cool.

scarabic@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 103d

Yes that was involved and they executed it well.

Sibbo@sopuli.xyz · 11 pts · 104d

Missed opportunity to spell smile

p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 6 pts · 103d

Jiaji also notes that some applications remain unexplored, like space exploration, wherein Y-zipper's tentacles could be built into a spacecraft to grab nearby rock samples.

WTF am I even reading?

m0darn@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 103d (1 reply)

I like the actuators. Industry already uses zipper drives for some applications but the ability for actuator to have a preset curve could be pretty useful.

VieuxQueb@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 103d

A compact'ish long travel, mostly strong at pulling, linear actuator could probably find some use.

melsaskca@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 103d

This could only happen in the gravity of a flat earth. /s

flango@lemmy.eco.br · 3 pts · 103d

Coolest thing ever

Smoogs@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 103d

Like how the tent still has a regular zipper to get in and out for the practicality that you will piss yourself if you have to take time to unzip à tent flap.

Krauerking@lemy.lol · 2 pts · 103d
hark@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 103d

The robot with the legs that can be extended or packed into compartments (shown at 2:34 in the video) is really cool!

possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 103d
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quick_snail@feddit.nl · 0 pts · 103d

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