There was a DIY expandable lamp created completely from off-the-shelf materials a foldable trapezoidal kite modeled after one designed by Alexander Graham Bell a winged Phoenix-like sculpture based on a J.G. The resulting student projects ranged in scale and function, from pin joints that could only be seen with a microscope to large retractable tables. Together, they have developed a sheet that can assemble into three-dimensional shapes of its own accord - such as a boat or a paper airplane - similar to the way that proteins found in nature can fold and refold into complex shapes to achieve different behaviors. According to the exhibit text, "The inventive process itself is ripe for innovation." Like Hoberman, both Demaine and Rus have also built their careers researching reconfigurable forms, making breakthroughs in the areas of programmable matter and computational origami respectively. With Demaine and Rus, the course investigated how this kind of mechanical invention could be further optimized using mathematical analysis and computational processes. There seems to be no end to the potential applications for these kinds of dynamic products, which use kinematics - the geometry of motion - to produce surprising and unique movements. Since then, Hoberman has invented a variety of shape-shifting products ranging in scale from toys, shelters, stage sets, medical devices, sculptures, buildings and furniture. In 1990, he patented the Hoberman sphere: a mechanism resembling a geodesic dome that was created from a series of scissor-like joints (similar to those found on a cherry picker) allowing the object to expand and contract. This is the question that has shaped Hoberman's unique 20-year career at the nexus of art and science, design and engineering. The seminar, co-taught with MIT professors Erik Demaine and Daniela Rus from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory ( CSAIL), was driven by a simple question: How can you create new transformable objects? These are a few of the examples of "transformable design" now on display from the course, "Mechanical Invention Through Computation" led by visiting designer, engineer and inventor Chuck Hoberman. Motorized wheels whose diameter can enlarge and contract depending on the terrain.
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