This purple and blue -glowing platform is a shape converter. It consists of many smaller building blocks that can be composed of new structures as desired. What sounds a bit like the building blocks from our childhood enables scientists to build uncomplicated and sustainable prototypes for new inventions.
Without reusable building blocks, the development of prototypes of large structures with integrated electronics, such as a chair that can monitor the seating position of a person, is a tedious and wasteful process. With 3D printing and laser cutting, numerous different versions must first be produced, which causes large amounts of waste. In order to facilitate prototype construction, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (with) invented the building blocks called “Voxels” shown above.
A voxel costs 50 cents and is stable enough to wear 228 kilograms – the weight of a piano. This is achieved by the aluminum component with its special geometric shape from eight triangular and six square surfaces. In addition, the grid modules have built-in sensor, reaction and processing functions, which can make interactive electronic devices quickly produced even without any previous knowledge.
The inventors already have different possible uses. For example, voxels could be built in the theater with Voxels, but also structures for space travel and for intelligent buildings. The team is already looking forward to the diverse ideas of future users. “It will be exciting to see what you can achieve and create with Voxels,” says Mithiner Jack Forman.