ORIPA for Android

Based on Jun Mitani's ORIPA desktop application, ORIPA for Android enables origami designers and enthusiasts to test their crease pattern ideas even while on the go! ORIPA for Android retains the ability to check crease patterns against local flat foldability rules and test fold valid crease patterns. Useful for when inspiration for a new origami design strikes while away from your computer or during long flights to origami conventions with no Wi-Fi.

Background

Starting in 2010, when I began to design origami, up until 2015, I typically drew my crease patterns (CPs) with colored pens on graph paper before redrawing the final CP on a computer using vector drawing software. In 2016, I began to use the desktop version of Jun Mitani's ORIPA app, which made my design process much faster. Instead of redrawing entire CPs on paper every time I changed the model, I could easily duplicate existing CP files and make incremental changes to the new files. Sharing mountain/valley-colored CPs became much faster. I also exported folded shapes in a vector format that I could paste into diagrams.

While working on a computer was fine, sometimes ideas would come while I was away from my computer, and I wanted a way to record those ideas. Thus, after a few months of using the desktop ORIPA, I started to work on an Android version of ORIPA. I worked on the project on and off for about a year before it became a working prototype in 2017.

The core experience for the user remains the same between the desktop ORIPA and ORIPA for Android. Users can still draw, validate, and test fold CPs. Under the hood, flat CPs are still represented by lines and points and folded CPs by vertices, half-edges, and faces. However, I took the opportunity of a new platform to introduce changes. The most obvious is designing and implementing a new mobile-friendly interface. I also fixed some bugs in desktop ORIPA at the time (e.g., undo issues), added/modified the drawing tools, rewrote many underlying data structures, and more. I tried a new traversal method for producing an overlap view of folded models, but that is still a work in progress.

The entire app is still a work in progress, with room for more improvement and optimization (and bug fixes). But I'm happy to see that so many people have already made good use of the app since ORIPA for Android's beta release.

-Michelle, May 2021

P.S. The desktop version of ORIPA has gotten many updates from the original and other contributors these past few years - try it out! For the more advanced users, Orihime (オリヒメ) by Meguro Toshiyuki is also an option with more tools and a great fold overlap solver.

Features

• Tools to draw, check, and fold crease patterns.
• Compatible with desktop ORIPA - import and export crease patterns as OPX or CP files.
• Save images of crease patterns and folded models as PNG or SVG.
• Undo/redo drawing actions.
• Multi-touch gestures include pinch-to-zoom, two-fingered panning, and two-fingered rotating of folded models.
• Both landscape and portrait orientations are supported.

Notes

• ORIPA can only fold 2D models; checking and folding 3D origami models is currently not supported.
• ORIPA can only draw straight lines; curved lines are not supported.
• ORIPA assumes knowledge of crease pattern analysis (e.g., Kawasaki's and Maekawa's theorems) and basic geometry (angle bisectors, etc.).
• ORIPA will not teach users how to design or understand origami crease patterns.

Download

Get ORIPA for Android [Beta] on Google Play

Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to the ORIPA for Android app ("the app," "this app") that is distributed under the developer name Origami Toolbox ("me"). "You" refers to any user of this app. This policy does not apply to other versions of the ORIPA app (e.g., Jun Mitani's original version).

The ORIPA for Android app is free and intended for use as is. The app does not collect, use, or share any personal information from you. Any data created by you via the app remains on your device until you choose to delete the data or uninstall the app.

This app does not collect any user data. However, if you choose to download this app from Google Play, you agree to the collection of your data by them according to the Google privacy policy.

Google Play shares a subset of your app usage information with me. This usage data includes and is not limited to app crashes, device type, country location, and Android version. I will only use this data to improve the app and will not share this data with any third parties.

This policy was last updated on July 5, 2022.

Contact

origamitoolbox [at] gmail [dot] com