An Alternative "Origami" Website
Unlike traditional “origami” websites, Origami Simulator can simulate the folding process of any origami pattern by attempting to fold all the creases simultaneously rather than folding the paper step-by-step. Its core principle is to iteratively solve the tiny geometric displacements of an initially flat sheet caused by crease forces. It uses a dynamic, GPU-accelerated solver to compute the geometry of fully or partially folded origami and showcases the physical properties of the folded material.
Origami Simulator employs a flexible dynamic simulation approach to solve the geometry of an origami pattern at a given folding angle. The simulation incorporates various constraints: distance constraints prevent the paper from stretching or compressing, while angle constraints control folding or flattening. Each constraint is weighted by a stiffness value—the stiffer the constraint, the better it is enforced in the simulation.
The Cauchy strain is a dimensionless measure of how much a material stretches or compresses under load. The application can switch to a strain visualization mode, displaying the strain on the origami by mapping it from blue (no strain) to red (maximum strain). This visualization intuitively reveals the extent to which the distance constraints are violated—that is, how much the paper is stretched. The strain at each vertex is evaluated by averaging the percentage deviation of all distance constraints between that vertex and its neighboring vertices. To eliminate scaling effects, this deviation is expressed as a percentage of the total length of the distance constraints.
What makes Origami Simulator particularly valuable is that its codebase is fully open-source. The code can be downloaded at: github.com/amandaghassaei/OrigamiSimulator.
The website’s 3D effects are created using three.js, resulting in a very smooth experience. It is accessible in China, though the loading speed can be a bit slow.
Origami Simulator also includes many other example models and supports an immersive VR mode via WebVR for interactive virtual reality experiences.
Website: origamisimulator