MIT develops self-transforming materials that behave 'like robots without robots'

A cross-disciplinary research lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has developed a suite of programmable materials, including carbon fiber, printed wood grain, textile composites, rubbers and plastics, that self-transform when exposed to an external stimulus. Director of the Self-Assembly Lab, Skylar Tibbits, presented a TED talk on 4D printing in 2013, where he demonstrated how a flat sheet of material could effectively build itself when exposed to water, like a robot without a robot. Following positive feedback from industries including aviation, automotive and manufacturing, his lab has been working on developing materials that change according to different activation sources, including heat, light, and air pressure, in addition to water – all of which have automotive relevance.

Mercedes McLaren SLR Stirling Moss unveiled

By Ben Pulman First Official Pictures 22 December 2008 10:46 Mercedes has ignored the credit crunch – and the plethora of other special edition SLRs – and launched the €750,000 (c. £710k) SLR Stirling Moss speedster as a farewell tribute to its McMerc supercar. Just 75 will be built and each will pack 641bhp.

CAR test drive survey: win £500!

By Ollie Kew (photography by Richard Pardon) Motor Industry 13 March 2014 14:00 If you’re after a new car, do you head straight for the online configurator, your local dealership, or online drive verdicts like CAR’s reviews section? We want to hear your views: click the link below to complete our short survey and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win £500! With so much information online, and brands like BMW ambitiously purporting to offer a test drive experience via a smartphone and tablet app, the humble demonstrator test drive is in jeopardy of looking a little ‘last week’.