Freefromigami is a project inspired by Tomohiro Tachi and his Origamizer software http://www.tsg.ne.jp/TT/software/. Origami allows almost any surface to be created from a flat sheet by applying tessellation patterns. These can be very complex, doubly curved surfaces.
In order to generate a 2d folding pattern from a 3d surface, there are mathematic formulas for the geometry of each tessellated tile. The formula can be applied to the 3d surface, then unfolded to flat using a physics simulation. This one is called the Miura fold.
To make a pattern from an irregular shape, such as a triangulated mesh, we can use patterns created by Ronald Resch as described in Tachi's paper http://mechanicaldesign.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/article.aspx?articleid=1737160. Here we are using Daniel Piker's Meshmachine plugin to remesh a surface with a given edge length.
As an experiment in rigid origami, that is origami that is unable to fold 180 degrees, we made a script to generate 3D printed patterns with print-in-place hinges. These are the kind of problems NASA is solving to create deployable solar panels on satellites. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly3hMBD4h5E
