Some technological advances happen by accident. Some happen on purpose. And some are the result of concerted and creative efforts by researchers to explore areas of common interest. A team of scientists led by Dan Raviv of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a manufacture workflow that combines computationally driven design with printable primitive components, aided by realistic simulations. With this framework, users can design and print non-trivial structures that bend and stretch in response to their environment. They are not unlike the water-capsule children's toys that blow up into dinosaurs in water. However, these active structures extend the process to more sophisticated shapes and functionalities that can exhibit controllable responses to a greater variety of external stimuli, including electric fields, temperature, and light. The team's work is described in the December 2014 issue of Scientific Reports (DOI:10.1038/srep07422).
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