Material Programming For 4D-Printing
A presentation by Tiffany Cheng, Doctoral Researcher at Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD).<br /><br />Material programming denotes a design method in which functions such as movement are encoded in the physical material and fabrication logic, in place of electronics and digital control. Plants respond to their surroundings because of their functionally graded internal structures — similarly, when materials are structured at the meso-scale, they can be programmed to change shape in response to the environment.<br /><br />This talk introduces my doctoral research on creating a material programming framework for 4D-printing engineered systems with nature-inspired functionalities. Through a series of case studies ranging from adaptive orthotics to climate-responsive architecture, I will present the computational design and fused filament fabrication of self-shaping material systems that adapt to air humidity without consuming any energy, based on the differentiated structures of plants.