The emergence of '4D printing' - Skylar Tibbits

3D printing has grown in sophistication since the late 1970s; TED Fellow Skylar Tibbits is shaping the next development, which he calls 4D printing, where the fourth dimension is time. This emerging technology will allow us to print objects that then reshape themselves or self-assemble over time. Think: a printed cube that folds before your eyes, or a printed pipe able to sense the need to expand or contract.

Talk by Skylar Tibbits.

[Elfos]

If he can figure out how to scale that up to construct entire buildings, it would certainly help address the shortage of construction workers given that the younger generation isn't keeping that industry populated, and the issues construction causes with traffic congestion months at a time.

[infocaris]

Imagine going to a place like ikea, buying a box and seeing it assemble itself partially or completely.

[xiaochicash]

7:25 A water pipe with holes does not a good pipe make.

[nathanross]

Sounds amazing but I'm having a hard time understanding how these ideas would be applied in everyday life.

[jobjobbington]

This whole thing is incredibly misleading, and not so impressive. They haven't built things that turn into other things. They've built things that can be stretched elastically, or held together magnetically, and presented them to us in their stretched or broken forms. Putting structures into a beaker that have magnets positioned only allowing the structures to fit in a certain way is no better than placing 2 weak magnets in the same beaker and saying "Wow, they break apart, but come back together in the same north to south structure". He says they're programmable, but in the same way as a rubber-band or one of those toys that expand in water. This is not new or innovative technology.
Then he says "4D printing", but really means, 3D printing of elastics, which either means he doesn't know what 4D is, or is deliberately using the concept to falsely draw attention.

This was primitive technology presented in con-artist ways.

[shaysplaylist]

It could be intresting if these can be transplanted in places which human approach is not impossible or dangerous. I don't think it's just a lazyness solution.

[LilRedRasta]

Engineers won't have to use their hands soon. They're basically just going to be computer programmers and designers haha. Rip to everyone working in the construction industry.