4D Printing is the Future of Design

That's right, it's one D better! Actually, 4D printing is about using a 3D printer to produce self-reconfiguring, programmable material that intelligently arranges itself into basically any object -- with no computers or electricity required! Skylar Tibbits, an MIT researcher, has already developed prototypes from his self-assembly lab. And this is just the beginning - from skyscrapers to space stations, the promises of 4D printing are amazing.

How would you use 4D Printing? Let us know in the comments below!
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[TRANSCRIPT]:
Some assembly required may soon be replaced with "Just Add Water."

3D printers. I never get tired of thinking about all the possible applications, like building a brand new coffee table, or building a brand new 3D printer, or finally getting that Strickland action figure everyone's been asking for. But all of these great products have one thing in common - rigidity. That means they're going to keep that shape once I print them, unless I take a flamethrower to them, or maybe a hacksaw. But the advent of something called 4D printing could turn all of that on its head! That's right, it's one "D" better!

Actually, it's not just a catch phrase, 4D printing is really about using a 3D printer to print out self-reconfiguring, programmable material. Now imagine this. You have a non-living object that can change its shape and behavior over time. It's kind of like a robot, but there are no microprocessors, no circuit boards no motors - in fact to you it looks like a string of plastic. But you toss it into a kiddie pool, and upon contact with water you now have a secret message spelled out in plastic cursive!

Skylar Tibbits, the man who really came up with this idea of 4D printing, has gone even further. He's created programmable sheet material. It's a sheet of plastic that, when submerged in water, can clench up into the shape of a cube. And a cube is just the beginning! More complex designs will mean millions of more shapes - like self-folding origami!

In the near future, imagine a smart grid of plumbing, with pipes that can actually expand and contract in response to water demand. Or maybe even heal if there is a frozen segment that breaks open. Or imagine self assembling furniture. Print out a flat board and just add water, next thing you know it curls up into a rocking chair. Now, wrap your mind around how useful this would be in a really hostile environment, like low Earth orbit, where building stuff comes at a high cost and a high risk.

Now the prototypes we have seen so far have been pretty simple, but the promises are amazing! Think about it on the really big scale. What about skyscrapers and bridges. If we could make them out of smart materials like smart beams and smart bricks, they could heal themselves after weather damage or prepare for something massive like an earthquake.

Or we flip it. We go on to the very small scale and now we have micro particles moving around in our bodies, maintaining our health. You might be wondering, how much complexity can build up our of stuff that changes its shape without computers or electromechanical motors. Lets think about proteins for a second. Proteins are pretty much what make any basic animal function possible on a cellular level. And a protein is really self-reconfiguring material. It's a polypeptide. It's a long chain of amino acids. So once again we're playing Copy Cat to mother nature.

Now lets not get ahead of ourselves, I'm not actually suggesting that we're going to be printing out some sort of plastic replicant that can gain self-awareness and yearn for more life But maybe we will. In fact, it's hard for us to predict right now. We're just seeing the very beginning of this technology, and the complexity could become truly amazing.

So, how would you use 4D printing? Let us know! Leave a comment below, we promise we're going to read every single one of them and while your there why don't you "like" the vide if you enjoyed it, and subscribe, we got some great stuff coming up soon!

[jonathanlevy]

We will look at this vid 200 years from now and laugh...

[sanguisdominus]

So how does this print in 4 dimensions?

Can it print a physical tesseract? No? Well, it's not printing in 4D, then.

Sure, I can't argue against the fact this is badass - but it's not 4D. It's just a 3D shape that changes in 3D.

[Stewie]

I can 3D print a clock. THERE! 4D printing!

[AbelLawliet]

I love how these shows tell me to imagine something, and then immediately show me an animation of the thing I was suppose to be imaging.
THE FUTURE IS NOW! 

[UnitedGames]

this is one step closer to the liquid terminator from terminator 2 xD

[DarthMadV]

Labelling this "4D" is terrible. It's really a concept of 2D becoming 3D. "4D" is the paranormal dimension. No 3D creatures brain can imagine the 4D universe correctly.

[DawnReneeRox]

Organic, self-building objects. Just add water. This was extremely cool and nicely radical! I♥sci.

[miyavalmadre-mccrae]

This is totally awesome as long as the materials used are helpful to the environment and not creating more plastic. If it can use recycled plastic or something even better enviro-wise, then it will be truly amazing.

[peluxplays]

It is impressive what can be done with 3D printers, but it is extremely amazing what can be done with 4D printers in the future.

First, I loved the way the video was explained, it was in a very understandable, visual way and the man who was doing it seemed very happy, it really conveyed the emotion of that new technology.

and second, the technology has advanced so much that it is already part of our daily life, so much so that man always seeks to overcome himself and create more and more things that help humanity.
If you could do wonders with 3D printers, with these next 4D printers people can do great things, this is a huge step for humanity and I hope it can come true. I would use it to make components for my computer, some multipurpose tools and many other things, because now our imagination will be our only limit.

I loved the video :)

[ThoughtxWolf]

Self-storing garden hoses. They would shrink down to tiny shapes when not wet, then expand when water is reintroduced. Self-shaping life rafts for boats. They turn from a folded up shape into a raft when thrown into water.
Water drainage systems in houses that expand when it starts to rain. Or water collectors with similar properties.
Possible uses in hydro-electric dams. Or canals.
High-flood areas could have self-constructing flood-walls.

[chuckbagley]

I have been following this technology, and it is wonderful. Every journey starts with the first step; we have taken that step

[whoaminow]

when i first saw the title i was like what? i can print it yesterday? but then i watched the vid and it's still neat but not as cool as time travel workstations

[Kumomyst]

I'm typically a pretty open-minded guy, but this man... He blows things out of proportion.

[jeffica]

WOW this is AMAZING....imagine the possibilities for our future and the future of our children!

[ToastUrbath]

In the future, everyone owns a 3D printer and instead of going to a store we download schematics online and pay to have material shipped biweekly.

[MrLordsongblade]

Recently I was doing some research on the so called "Zombie Cells" which are just highly durable and resistant silica biocomposites. They were talking about its possible applications, some of which were biofuels, medicine delivery methods, and even nanotechnology. Which brings me to my question. Could these super resilient cells be used in 4D printing? 

[TheTriforceofRubiks]

The reason it's being called 4D printing is that another concept is being added, not another dimension. It's a misleading title like dark matter or dark energy. There's nothing DARK about them but the names are cool.

[funkerndrummer]

I've got a job interview in the morning at a 3D printer company.
This really gave me an extra boost

[JohnnyGiddingsCubed]

All 3D printing was to me was custom Lego pieces. CUSTOM LEGO PIECES, YOU GUYS!

[ShinyDaket]

These videos deserve way more attention and views than their getting.I really hope that this'll rocket up in the viewer count soon :3