Mad Scientists at MIT Are Designing Chairs That Assemble Themselves

4-D printed chairs!! Well, not really but this technology reminds me of that concept; whereby, over time objects can form into a desired shape. By using the power(s) of magnetic attraction, scientist Skylar Tibbits and his team are developing what's called FLUID ASSEMBLY FURNITURE (F.A.F.) "an investigation into how structures might be able to autonomously assemble in uncontrolled environments like water."

Viewed in time lapse, it looks easy enough, but getting materials to self-assemble isn’t simple. Every variable—the size, weight and geometry of the individual pieces, the force of turbulence, the amount of water, etc.—impacts how efficiently the chair builds itself. In this rough prototype, the chair is made up of six components. Each is embedded with magnets and has an unique connection point that allows it to latch onto another piece. Think of it like a puzzle with the magnets acting as the attracting force. “At close proximity, each piece should easily connect with its corresponding component but never with another one,” explains Baily Zuniga, a student in the lab who led the research.

The way the pieces eventually find each other is mostly a result of trial and error—pieces floating next to each other until they find their perfect match. It’s hard to tell from the video, but it took seven hours for the chair to fully assemble itself. Not lightning fast, but an impressive starting point. “Finding a way to make the pieces more interchangeable would increase the probability of the pieces finding their matches,” says Zuniga. “Thus resulting in a faster assembly.”

This is very interesting, ATS and it can come in handy for construction of underwater habitats; which we may need very soon due to rising oceans! The research seems to still be in early stages but it looks promising for oceans on Earth or even off world. What says ATS?

www.wired.com...

a reply to: lostbook

Yeah Though Looks like fun nit very practical. I mean what would we do come home and through everything into the pool wait for it to come together?

a reply to: lostbook

Wanna see a chair build itself?.

www.youtube.com...

I should add, there is no operator controlling this function. The chair is entirely autonomous.

I want a car that can transform lol

a reply to: TheGemini

First post?

I'll bet you're young enough to have played with transformers?

These aren't mad scientists, they're mad engineers.

Most mad technical people are engineers.

If they're going "Mwa ha ha ha - look at this data I'm collecting! MWA HA HA they laughed at me at the Sorbonne...but I have DISPROVED THE NULL HYPOTHESIS!" then THAT'S a mad scientist.

If they're going "Watch what happens if I do THIS! HOLD MY BEER! MWA HA HA!", you have a mad engineer.

It can also be a giveaway if the guy says things like "The science guys say this equation is predictive of this experimental setup! There's some terms in the denominator we can send to zero. So...what happens if I pull the lead off this field coil and cause a singularity! Is it predictive OR NOT!? MWA HA HA! If it IS, a field strength of zero should send this volume's whatsit rate to negative INFINITY! I think. Aw hell, at any rate, you'll get a pole over here. What the hell would that LOOK like? MWA HA HA! Hold my beer guys, watch THIS!" *boink*

This would put IKEA out of business!