Using a 3D-printing process called microstereolithography, researchers at MIT, in collaboration with Singapore University of Technology and Design, have created small structures that respond to temperature while remembering their original shape. Printed with a polymer mix that hardens or softens with temperature, the objects can be contorted, yet return to their initial shape. Applications for the technology include medicine, aerospace engineering, and even pharmaceuticals. “We ultimately want to use body temperature as a trigger,” says Nicholas Fang, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. “If we can design these polymers properly, we may be able to form a drug delivery device that will only release medicine at the sign of a fever.” [Engadget + MIT News]
Making the best of an invasive plant species, visual artist Olafur K invented a sustainable material made of cane and bio resin. [Olafur K]
Artist and writer Ingrid Burrington’s book Networks of New York (Melville House, 2016) delves into the often-unseen world of internet infrastructure. [CityLab]
Chicago has installed the first two of ultimately 500 sensor boxes that will act as a makeshift fitness tracker for urban environments, monitoring noise levels, air quality, and both automobile and pedestrian traffic. [USA Today]
A team of six researchers—including one architecture Ph.D. student— has emerged from a year-long simulation of life on Mars, which took place inside an isolated 1,200-square-foot dome in Hawaii’s lava fields. [NASA]
A concept design for responsive headgear, ear coverings, and respirators protect users from physical harm before it happens. [Core77]