MCMC Sampling of Origami and Linkages
Hikaru Kuribayashi · Sapporo, Japan
George D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award ($100,000) · Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair · 2026
Simulation software that applies Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling to the configuration space of folded structures and mechanical linkages, exploring many folding states at once instead of following a single path. The intended applications are compact deployable structures such as satellite solar sails and folded medical devices.
The move here is choosing a sampling method that matches the shape of the problem. Folding configurations form a huge, awkward space, and MCMC is the standard tool for exactly that shape — the contribution is recognising the mapping and implementing it well, not inventing new mathematics.
- Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling
- Configuration-space modelling
- Fold and linkage kinematics
- Simulation software development
- Borrowing an established method from another field is a legitimate contribution when the mapping is the insight
- A simulation project earns its keep when it names the concrete artefacts it would let someone design
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