ABSTRACT
The aim of FPM is to create smart, self-folding sheets that can reconfigure into multiple desired forms. The foldable programmable matter editor (FPME), a tool for drawing and simulating rigid origami, has been created to facilitate the design and testing of programmable matter structures. The physical nature of folding programmable matter imposes additional requirements on the simulation. The structures consist of flat, rigid sheets of non-negligible thickness. The sheets are connected by revolute joints, which are coplanar when the structure is in its unfolded state. A variety of actuators, with their own unique properties, may be involved in the folding motion. Accordingly, geometric constraints are insufficient for this modeling. In contrast to kinematic origami simulators, the programmable matter
editor utilizes the nVidia PhysX package to create a real-time dynamic simulation of the folding procedure. The editor is used to draw (or import) a crease pattern. For a given crease pattern, the user defines sequences of folds and the physical actuator properties that guide those folds. The program can then be used to visualize the folding in real time.
