Computer animation may be a lot better than it used to be, but it’s been around for quite a while. This is an example of one of the older bits, dating way back to 1965, and it features some 4D ...

With 4D printing, the objects can change shape or properties using external stimuli such as temperature, light, pH, magnetic field, electricity, and moisture. Additionally, the changes in shape or ...

April 19, 2023 Italian researchers have created the first 4D-printed biomimetic, biodegradable soft robot that changes shape in response to humidity Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia View 1 Images ...

Using a new technique known as 4D printing, researchers can print out dynamic 3D structures capable of changing their shapes over time. Such 4D-printed items could one day be used in everything ...

While part of this shape change is down to the materials used, the rest is thanks to the way that the printer has been programmed to print this structure. The precise pattern of printing allows ...

Researchers at the University of Wollongong, Australia, have created a 3D printer-compatible hydrogel that is mechanically tough and able to repeatedly change shape in response to water temperature.

This quality of anisotropy, which allows wood to be chopped easier along the grain rather than across it, is also what provides the flexibility of the 4D printed objects to swell and change shape.

Combining materials with different swelling ratios creates structures that transform into tubes when exposed to water. (Courtesy: Yu Bin Lee) Materials that controllably change shape over time – often ...