Escherization has been reduced to an algorithm:
Escher was able to discover such tilings through a combination of natural ability and sheer determination. Can we automate the discovery of tilings by recognizable motifs? More formally, we pose the Escherization problem:
Given a shape S, find a new shape T such that:
- T is as close as possible to S; and
- Copies of T fit together to form a tiling of the plane.