2026 | Student

French Design Awards Silver Winner

Ways Out

Entrant

Beijing Institute of Technology

Category

Product Design - Tools

Client's Name

Tianyi Bai

Country / Region

China

Product Introduction: Ways Out is an integrated off-road recovery tool with origami-inspired structural design, which combines the functions of a shovel and recovery boards into a single foldable device. Featuring a simple production method and low cost, it is specially developed to solve the pain points of traditional off-road rescue tools, providing a more efficient, portable and cost-effective solution for off-road scenarios.
Background & Pain Points: Off-road driving frequently encounters complex terrains such as snow, sand, mud, and soft ground, where vehicles are easily stranded. Traditional recovery relies on two separate tools: a shovel for obstacle clearing and recovery boards for traction. This conventional approach has critical drawbacks in extreme off-road scenarios: excessive onboard storage consumption, cumbersome carrying and deployment, and low rescue efficiency.

Core Innovation: The core advantage of Ways Out lies in its origami-inspired folding design. By adopting origami principles, it integrates two functions into one foldable device—realizing lightweight and compactness without compromising structural strength or functional reliability. It can quickly switch between digging mode (for obstacle clearing) and traction mode (for getting out of trouble), streamlining the rescue process and significantly reducing the user’s equipment burden.

Value & Market Potential: This solution effectively resolves the storage and deployment issues of traditional tools. With its simple production method, low cost, exceptional portability, multifunctionality and cost-effectiveness, Ways Out is suitable for both off-road enthusiasts and professional rescue teams, demonstrating significant application value and strong global market potential.

Credits

Beijing Institute of Technology
Zhuo Rui
Beijing Institute of Technology
Tianyi Bai
Beijing Institute of Technology
Siqi Li
Beijing Institute of Technology
Yiwen Yuan
Beijing Institute of Technology
Bowen Sun
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