Logical and algebraic view of Huzita's origami axioms with applications to computational origami

Abstract

We describe Huzita's origami axioms from the logical and algebraic points of view. Observing that Huzita's axioms are statements about the existence of certain origami constructions, we can generate basic origami constructions from those axioms. Origami construction is performed by repeated application of Huzita's axioms. We give the logical specification of Huzita's axioms as constraints among geometric objects of origami in the language of the first-order predicate logic. The logical specification is then translated into logical combinations of algebraic forms, i.e. polynomial equalities, disequalities and inequalities, and further into polynomial ideals (if inequalities are not involved). By constraint solving, we obtain solutions that satisfy the logical specification of the origami construction problem. The solutions include fold lines along which origami paper has to be folded. The obtained solutions both in numeric and symbolic forms make origami computationally tractable for further treatments, such as visualization and automated theorem proving of the correctness of the origami construction.