Open Collections

Description

A reconfigurable is an object or collection of objects whose trans- formation between various states defines its functionality or aes- thetic appeal. For example, consider a mechanical assembly com- posed of interlocking pieces, a transforming folding bicycle, or a space-saving arrangement of apartment furniture. Traditional computer-aided design tools are best intended for static objects. I will report on some of our recent attempts to create optimization-based tools for computational design of reconfigurable shapes. I will first discuss a prototype of a general purpose tool. Then I will dive into the curious and delightful special case of computational design of generalized Matryoshka, a.k.a. Russian Nesting Dolls.