New Jersey Institute of Technology
College of Architecture & Design
2009
“Transformable Objects”
Recently The Verge (www.theverge.com) published an article about NASA using tensegrity to design a new robot. I hate to tell you guys, but we got you beat by 4 years!
NASA has been working on a new landing system for future space missions called the Super Ball Bot using the principals of tensegrity and systems like Chuck Hoberman’s Sphere, but my NJIT Industrial Design students have them beat by four years!
This studio and these projects are an investigation into “Transformable Objects” that can transform at many different scales. Just like NASA’s Super Ball Bot which uses these principals to demonstrate the importance of scale and weight in space missions, these projects can “grow” into projects like: scaleable structures for the military (like bridges or housing), space saving solutions for space frame structures and many other ideas.
Too bad Chuck Hoberman turned down our invitation to our final review! He would have loved this stuff! Next time Chuck, next time! We’ll transform your brain!
