Discussion:  Skylar Tibbits, a senior fellow at MIT, explains 4-D printing as printing a 3-D object that has the capacity to change over time.  Instead of being a static object with a fixed life, a 4-D object would be more adaptive and responsive to its environment.  The application of such technology are mind-boggling, and span nearly every industry.  One example is clothes that can change as the weather gets warmer or colder–the end game for this technology being printable robotics without wires or motors. 

Source:  CNN News

Date:  April 12, 2013

Link:  http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/10/tech/innovation/orig-ideas-4-d-printing/index.html?hpt=te_r1

Discussion Questions:

• How else might 4-D printing be applied?
• How is a 4-D object different from a 3-D object?