Programmable Material Self-Assembles on Command

Oct-23-14 Using 4D printers, Researchers at MIT have created a new array of 'programmable' materials that could one day have us watching our furniture assemble itself.

The programmable materials are made by printing a specialized constraint along with the original material, which will cause it to respond to a particular stimulus in a specific way. The team plans the layout of the programmable material using Autodesk's software Project Cyborg as well as data from past experiments. Building on this information, they can then print the material using a constraint to control its actions.

The team's exploration in programmable materials has expanded to include rubber, fabrics and carbon fiber, and it is the latter that is now attracting the most attention. Both the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the luxury car company Briggs are looking into using the new carbon fiber material on their vehicles.

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