Origami of Species

Fold, unfold, refold – the art of origami is as old as paper. But laser physicist Robert Lang has added a new step: crunch. His TreeMaker software begins with a line drawing, solves 200 or more equations, and produces a crease pattern. Although Lang designed much of this allosaurus with pencil and paper, you can […]

Fold, unfold, refold - the art of origami is as old as paper. But laser physicist Robert Lang has added a new step: crunch. His TreeMaker software begins with a line drawing, solves 200 or more equations, and produces a crease pattern. Although Lang designed much of this allosaurus with pencil and paper, you can thank TreeMaker for its perfect bite. Such uniform details are nearly impossible to create the old-school way. But the freeware (www.rug.nl/rugcis/rc/ftp/origami/programs/TreeMaker) is not a perfect solution. As Lang says, "TreeMaker uses a mathematical theory of 'how to fold,' but there's no mathematical theory of 'easy to fold.'"

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