Scientists and engineers from the Universities of Cambridge and Bristol have been presenting some of their work on the development of, and science behind, novel "shape-shifting" structures at the Royal Society's Annual Summer Science Exhibition.
 

Conventional structures, such as buildings and bridges, do not visibly move, for solidity and safety. A structure that "shifts shape" radically alters in form to give new purpose to the structure.

One famous example from the world of science fiction is the transformer - a high performance vehicle in one shape, and in another, a fighting robot. Real examples of shape-shifting materials abound in everyday life as well. These can be very simple (like a deck chair or a pop-up tent), or more exotic - like flip-flop phones and unfurling satellites.

For the last five years, scientists in Cambridge have been developing structures that shift shape without using standard hinges, known as "morphing" structures. These have no moving parts, but can change between at least two different shapes. They are made from ordinary materials such as metals and plastic. Colleagues in Bristol have been developing similar structures made from composite materials, such as glass-fibre reinforced plastics.

Often, these morphing structures can change shape dramatically and fast. The Royal Society exhibit features handheld demonstrations and tips on how members of the public can make their own morphing structures at home - including a shape-shifting helicopter blade, a land periscope, a mechanical Venus fly-trap, dimpled metallic skins, morphing loops, a mini solar sail and flick-bracelets made from tape measures.

Dr. Keith Seffen, joint-leader of the Cambridge team, said: "Our structures are exciting, fun and offer a glimpse of tomorrow's technology today. Structural engineering is about much more than buildings and bridges - it's about aircraft, cars, satellites, electronics, gadgets - anything that is made that needs to be strong enough to endure within their working life."

"Shape-shifting structures add a new dimension to their performance, where the change in shape gives added benefit. Our research ethos is simple: pose interesting problems, extract the underlying principle, devise simple solutions. We, and the UK teams represented here, lead the world in the science of shape-shifters, and we’re very pleased to be able to present our work to the general public."

The Royal Society exhibition is open until Sunday (July 4th) and is located in the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London. It is free and open to the public. Full details are available at: http://seefurtherfestival.org/exhibition

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