Scientists have created a pair of compact, unfurling structures that could pave the way for in**vations in biomedical devices or space exploration, where payloads can cost tens of thousands of dollars per pound.
A team at the Georgia Institute of Tech**logy crafted these objects using "tensegrity" — a structural system of floating rods in compression and cables in continuous tension. Researchers crafted the rods and cables, called "struts," from shape memory polymers that unfold when heated. Read more...