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Posts Tagged ‘Shape Shifting’

NC State intellects design twistable, shape-shifting antennas

December 3rd, 2009

NC State intellects design twistable, shape-shifting antennas
NC State may be well on its way to yet another underwhelming season on the hardwood, but it seems as if a few of its most spirited boffins aren’t even taking any time off to celebrate the season-ending victory over the hated Heels on the team’s final football game. Dr. Michael Dickey and team have just published their latest invention, and if this thing ever reaches commercial status, you can expect ordinary objects to become a lot more intelligent. The crew’s shape-shifting, twistable antenna overcomes the common limitation of copper-based alternatives by relying on an alloy that can be “bent, stretched, cut and twisted” while still transmitting or receiving a signal. Aside from enabling concept phones like the Ondo to become real, the development could also allow for stretchable antennas to be integrated into actual structures, giving buildings and bridges a way to communicate stresses to architects. Too bad it can’t communicate the crumbling of an athletics program to an oblivious AD, but hey, there’s always room for improvement in version 2.0.

NC State intellects design twistable, shape-shifting antennas originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Posted in Computers and Technology, Engadget |

Tags: Alloy, Antenna, Antennas, Architects, Buildings And Bridges, Copper, Dr Michael, Email, Engadget, Football Game, Intellects, Latest Invention, Michael Dickey, Nbsp, Nc State, Ondo, Popular Science, Shape Shifting, Stresses, Victory |

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Shape-shifting ‘Breathing Chair’ looks to make the beanbag fashionable

October 27th, 2009

Shape-shifting ‘Breathing Chair’ looks to make the beanbag fashionable

Shape-shifting chairs may not always be the most attractive additions to your living room, but Taiwanese designer Yu-Ying Wu is hoping to change that with her so-called “Breathing Chair,” which has already won a few prestigious design awards but hasn’t yet snagged any commercial partners. The secret, such as it is, is the array of “professionally calculated” holes spaced out through the three layers of foam plastic, which are designed to compress into the shape of an armchair when someone sits in it and spring back into a cube when they stand up. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any video of it in action, but the chair will soon be on display at Red Dot Design Museum in Signapore if you happen to be in the area.

[Via MAKE]

Filed under: Household

Shape-shifting ‘Breathing Chair’ looks to make the beanbag fashionable originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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