with flat-pack all the rage, it seems like we are destined to make things that can compactly store themselves and pop into shape to serve our needs. two new advances demonstrate that you don’t always have to be the one that assembles it yourself: parisian researchers have developed miniature pieces of material that form three-dimensional enclosures when in response to water (above) while harvard scientists have developed electronics that fold themselves into three-dimensional configurations when exposed to heat (below).
via treehugger