Collaborate Disseminate
Japanese scientists have developed a new type of plastic that’s strong at room temperature, but can be easily broken down on demand into its base components. In seawater, it starts to break down into food for marine life, and just to top it off, it can… Continue reading Impressive new plastic self-heals, can be recycled and feeds marine life
A team of scientists at Yale University has developed a new “robotic fabric” that can change its shape and stiffness on demand or by sensing its environment. The material could one day be used in high-tech clothing, tents that set themselves up, or rob… Continue reading Shape-changing “robotic fabric” switches between soft and strong
Materials that can be deformed and then return to their original state as desired, such as shape memory alloys, could mean big things for aerospace, robotics, and even fashion if a new smart textile from Harvard University is anything to go by. Made fr… Continue reading Researchers recycle wool into smart textile that remembers its shape
Imagine if there were a metallic device that could be transported all squished down into a compact ball, but that would automatically “bloom” out into its useful form when heated. Well, that may soon be possible, thanks to a newly developed liquid meta… Continue reading Rubber “exoskeleton” lets liquid metal structures retain their shape
While shape-memory materials do have some interesting potential applications, many of them require the application of heat in order to change shape – and that could cause problems, in temperature-sensitive environments such as the human body…. Continue reading Stiffer shape-memory material utilizes magnetically-activated liquid