MIT engineers create a system for building shape-changing smart devices

Engineers at MIT have developed a system of three-dimensional printed building blocks that allow for the creation of smart devices capable of changing their shape. These modular components, called bifur-circuits, maintain their electrical connections regardless of how they are twisted or rotated, allowing the device to sense its own configuration without external wiring. As MIT News tells it, the researchers demonstrated the technology with a chair that can transform into a table and a game controller that launches different software based on its physical form. The team suggests these materials could eventually be used for everything from adaptive robotic grippers to emergency shelters that respond to environmental conditions.

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