TED 2013: 4D printed objects ‘make themselves’

Many are only just getting their heads around the idea of 3D printing but scientists at MIT are already working on an upgrade: 4D printing.
At the TED conference in Los Angeles, architect and computer scientist Skylar Tibbits showed how the process allows objects to self-assemble.
It could be used to install objects in hard-to-reach places such as underground water pipes, he suggested.
It might also herald an age of self-assembling furniture, said experts.
Smart materials TED fellow Mr Tibbits, from the MIT’s (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) self-assembly lab, explained what the extra dimension involved.
“We’re proposing that the fourth dimension is time and that over time static objects will transform and adapt,” he told the BBC.
The process uses a specialised 3D printer made by Stratasys that can create multi-layered materials.
It combines a strand of standard plastic with a layer made from a “smart” material that can absorb water. The water acts as an energy source for the material to expand once it is printed.
“The rigid material becomes a structure and the other layer is the force that can start bending and twisting it,” said Mr Tibbits. “Essentially the printing is nothing new, it is about what happens after,” he added.