MIT and BMW are working together to develop a 3D printed material that will change the way cars are produced. MIT's self-assembling laboratory has created a process called "liquid printing pneumatics." It is a system that expands or contracts air into a flexible material. These designs will be 3D printed and programmed to respond to air loss when needed.
BMW hopes to apply this technology to the most common use of air in cars, namely airbags. BMW personnel want to apply it to certain parts of the interior and exterior of a unique inflatable car. Martina Stark, BMW Brand Vision and BMW Brand Design Director, said: "The results of this collaboration show that a new material is coming. There is no need to lock future cars into any particular shape. The interior can even be used Plastic, modular uses. "
"It's programmed with air. It's not 0 and 1 but different pulses of air," said Skylar Tibbits, founder of the Self-Assembly Lab. BMW engineers and MIT researchers conducted a two-year interdisciplinary Research and development. "We have brought together some of the latest technologies such as fast liquid printing technology and technology from soft robots to achieve this adaptive material structure. Now we can print complex inflatable structures with custom drives and adjustable stiffness . "
Liquid printing pneumatics has the best chance to put BMW's concept into reality. Stark and other BMW customers must comment on how to use liquid printing pneumatics in car design after the V & A exhibition. It may take several years before we really see this technology. However, MIT's self-assembling lab brings decades of unique designs to reality.