0_____0 a day ago

Interesting but the brief doesn't explain what 4-D printing is, which sort of reduces whatever technique they used to a cheap buzzword.

If I was less lazy I'd read the cites and report back, but alas, sloth.

Edit: OK, I've done it. It's just 3D printing objects that change shape over time once they're printed, 3D-ly. I really like that people are thinking about how to achieve this environmentally mediated shape changes but the marketing buzzwords suuuuuuuuck

  • BandButcher a day ago

    Haha while I agree, the HN post title felt on point with what they were researching so it wasn't so much clickbaity as it was fluff in the article. Usually its clickbait titles and I feel duped

    Very cool technology, but I'm curious how much it helps to cool (temperature) as well as the robustness and longevity of the cellulose material

  • jon_richards a day ago

    I think it's become an industry term. This isn't the first article or product I've seen using it to refer to a 3d printed object that reversibly transforms without mechanical input.

  • qrsjutsu a day ago

    yeah, 4D is nonsense. it's "just" built-in conditional logic. a person who gets fatter over Christmas isn't a 4D person.

zol a day ago

The material changes shape based on the amount of humidity in the air. The article doesn’t explain how that makes it respond to sunlight, which is what their demonstration system does. I didn’t think sunlight and humidity were always correlated. Am I missing something obvious?

Vampiero a day ago

I wonder why they went with that shape, surely it's possible to design anything if you start from the principle that some materials expand when moist and contract when dry. I guess it's an efficient tiling

moralestapia a day ago

Amazing and very aesthetically pleasing!

Before reading the article I was thinking "if this was passive that would be som neat" ... and it is passive, wow.

The scientists used the movement mechanisms of pine cones as a model for the "Solar Gate", which opens and closes in response to changes in humidity and temperature without consuming any metabolic energy.

qrsjutsu a day ago

epic stuff!

the same method can be used for actuators. we'll see a lot of this used in mitigation of and adaptation to climate change consequences.