Researchers at MIT are finding ways to make objects and buildings construct themselves, such as this rock-and-string structure MIT collaborated with ETH Zurich on display at the Chicago Biennial.
Another addition to the self-building portfolio is Kinetic Blocks. Developed by MIT’s Tangible Media Group, the shapeshifting display of computer-controlled pins can manipulate objects to take form.
According to Fast Company, Kinetic Blocks is a “flatbed ‘shape display’ with a Microsoft Kinect as an overhanging eye.” The device can stock, rotate, twist, and move blocks without any human intervention. “It can even construct preprogrammed structures,” the article says.
Related Stories
Game Changers | Feb 4, 2016
GAME CHANGERS: 6 projects that rewrite the rules of commercial design and construction
BD+C’s inaugural Game Changers report highlights today’s pacesetting projects, from a prefab high-rise in China to a breakthrough research lab in the Midwest.
Drones | Feb 3, 2016
A new volume measurement tool makes drone imagery easier to analyze
DroneDeploy’s latest app is available for all mobile devices.
BIM and Information Technology | Jan 27, 2016
Seeing double: Dassault Systèmes creating Virtual Singapore that mirrors the real world
The virtual city will be used to help predict the outcomes of and possible issues with various scenarios.
BIM and Information Technology | Jan 26, 2016
How the Fourth Industrial Revolution will alter the globe’s workforce
The next great technological metamorphosis will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before, due to the sheer size, speed, and scope of disruption.
Great Solutions | Jan 20, 2016
Skanska’s new app helps construction teams monitor and meet environmental quality standards while renovating hospitals
App allows users to track noise, differential pressure levels, vibration, and dust
Augmented Reality | Jan 19, 2016
Will Generation Virtuals' office be a pair of glasses?
A waning need for office buildings may be on the horizon, thanks to the possibility of working remotely via new technologies like Google Cardboard, writes HDR's Rachel Park.
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 21, 2015
Laser scanning and in-shop prefabrication a boon for the WellStar Paulding Hospital
Contractor Brasfield & Gorrie’s use of BIM and prefabrication on the Hiram, Ga., hospital shows how digital tools can lead to savings, safety, and better construction.
Sponsored | BIM and Information Technology | Dec 17, 2015
How is the Value of VDC for Design Management Translating Outside the US?
Sascha Vesterlund, a VDC Specialist, Design Processer with MT Højgaard, and Nathan Wood, Innovation at DPR Construction, shared their perspectives on VDC
BIM and Information Technology | Dec 3, 2015
New app visualizes cellular and Wi-Fi signals in an area
Using data collected from millions of cell towers and Wi-Fi routers, the app makes the invisible visible.
BIM and Information Technology | Nov 30, 2015
Light-based wireless technology is 100 times faster than Wi-Fi
Li-Fi, which reaches speeds of 224 gigabits per second, is being tested in Estonia.
