Computational additive manufacturing integrates digital design, simulation, and control with 3D and 4D printing processes to create structures with precisely programmed geometry, composition, and function. Methods span multimaterial extrusion, vat photopolymerization, volumetric and holographic printing, and bio- and food-printing, often coupled to AI-driven design tools, topology optimization, and process monitoring. A major emphasis is on architected and origami- or textile-inspired mechanical metamaterials, soft robots, and functional devices whose mechanical, optical, electromagnetic, or morphing behavior is encoded at the meso- and microstructural level.
Electronics & Semiconductors
Contemporary artificial intelligence (AI) systems, such as the models underpinning the functioning of ChatGPT, image generators and AI-powered creative tools, draw inspiration from the human brain's functions and organization. ...
Engineering
There is something universally appealing about the slap bracelet, and the way a simple tap causes it to switch between a straight shape and a curled one. What you probably didn't know is that a slap bracelet's satisfying ...
May 6, 2026
0
14
Consumer & Gadgets
In 1985, the Innovative Design Fund placed an ad in Scientific American offering up to $10,000 to support clever prototypes for clothing, home decor, and textiles. William Freeman Ph.D., then an electrical engineer at Polaroid ...
May 4, 2026
0
1872
Engineering
Termite mounds are remarkable structures that regulate temperature, balance airflow, and maintain structural stability in some of Earth's harshest climates. And like other irregular, disordered systems, they can be difficult ...
May 4, 2026
0
34
Engineering
Researchers at Seoul National University have developed a new class of ultralight structural materials that combine the load-bearing strength of engineering materials with the weight of foam. Using a method called 3D node ...
Apr 29, 2026
0
45
Engineering
Nature is replete with slender filaments that bend and coil—from climbing grape vines, to folded proteins, to elephant trunks that can pick up a peanut but also take down a tree.
Apr 29, 2026
0
8
Robotics
Robotically assembled building blocks could be a more environmentally friendly method for erecting large-scale structures than some existing construction techniques, according to a new study by MIT researchers published in ...
Apr 28, 2026
0
9
Engineering
Researchers have developed an ultra-thin optical film that improves the quality of the light used in LCD resin-based 3D printers. The advance helps ensure that tiny details are reproduced with precision, which could make ...
Apr 27, 2026
0
13
Engineering
From the geometric symmetry in Islamic tiles to the mechanical versatility of origami, cultural patterns have an extensive range of structures. Inspired by cultural geometries, researchers from the University of Edinburgh ...
Apr 21, 2026
0
29
Engineering
In its CeraMMAM project, a team of researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has developed a system with which high-performance components can be produced from multiple materials in a single process using ...
Apr 20, 2026
0
7
