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.

During the early stages of life, organs do not just appear in their final form. They take shape through a process of controlled bending, twisting, and folding. These changes help cells organize into ...

Nowadays, 3D printing allows items to be created from a wide variety of materials — plastic, ceramic, glass, metal and even stranger ingredients such as chocolate and living cells. The machines work ...

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 from ...

Now, 4D technology has been used to create a soft robot capable of analyzing the soil. Drawing inspiration from the seed structure of the South African geranium (Pelargonium appendiculatum), which ...

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 ...

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 shapes.

New work out of Georgia Tech promises to lend a sense of permanence to shape-shifting 3D printing. The technology, commonly referred to as 4D printing by those in the know, aims to add another ...