How About 4-D printing?

Now that 3-D printing is on the way to becoming a more accessible form of printing (Check out this article), technological innovators are already researching the prospects of "4-D printing".  With 4-D printing you have the ability to make objects that transform into other structures.   At first, the 4-D structures are similar to a job the 3-D printer creates however, the static figures will transform when they are "activated".  The prints are activated by an external force.  In early experiments discussed in the article I read, water is the activating substance which provides the energy that the object needs in order to change. Activation can also occur with light, heat, current or sound.  This device has the potential to be extremely useful when building structures underwater or in space. Places that are difficult or impossible to access will benefit greatly from this technology.

 4-D printing sounds like an amazingly useful technological feat that will transform the concept of building on a large scale.  When researching 3-D printers I had no idea that 4-D printers were even in the works.  From the information in this article it seems the technology is on the path to becoming the next big thing.    

Check out the article here