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.
Robotics
In the 1980s when micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) were first created, computer engineers were excited by the idea that these new devices that combine electrical and mechanical components at the microscale could be ...
Nov 13, 2025
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Engineering
Because it's costly and cumbersome to transport large structures such as satellite dishes into space, aerospace Ph.D. student Ivan Wu and his advisor, Jeff Baur, at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois ...
Nov 12, 2025
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Engineering
Concrete 3D printing reduces both time and cost by eliminating traditional formwork, the temporary mold for casting. Yet most of today's systems rely on extrusion-based methods, which deposit material very close to a nozzle ...
Nov 11, 2025
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Engineering
Bacterial spores—the hardy survival structures formed by certain bacterial species—are proving to be a game changer in the field of engineered living materials (ELMs). By embedding Bacillus spores within ELMs, Jeong-Joo Oh, ...
Nov 11, 2025
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Hi Tech & Innovation
Car enthusiasts will pay hundreds of dollars for stereo systems that will improve the sound quality in their cars. However, the inherent directionality of speakers and complex shapes of car cabins can exacerbate sound disparities ...
Nov 11, 2025
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Engineering
When scientists make the thin metal films used in electronics, optics, and quantum technologies, they usually spend months tinkering with the temperature, composition and timing of the process, hoping to land on just the ...
Nov 6, 2025
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108
Electronics & Semiconductors
Researchers have developed an ultra-thin 3D display with a wide viewing angle, clear image quality and vivid display depth. By overcoming tradeoffs that typically limit glasses-free 3D displays, the advance could open new ...
Nov 5, 2025
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Engineering
A new prototype of a knitting machine creates solid, knitted shapes, adding stitches in any direction—forward, backward and diagonal—so users can construct a wide variety of shapes and add stiffness to different parts of ...
Nov 4, 2025
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128
Robotics
The commercialization of clothing-type wearable robots has taken a significant step forward with the development of equipment that can continuously and automatically weave ultra-thin shape memory alloy coil yarn—thinner than ...
Oct 29, 2025
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Engineering
Imagine a road cyclist or downhill skier whose clothing adapts to their wind speed, allowing them to shave time just by pulling or stretching the fabric.
Oct 28, 2025
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