Cortical

Fusion

Walkthrough

Put it where you want it

This malleable room is flooded with sound and light, and the occupants of this room are invited to push or pull on the walls, allowing them to mold the space to their preferences. Visitors can interact with the walls via touch, or via use of tools in the form of geometric objects to help them sculpt the space. For example, a large sphere or cube can be pressed into the wall to create various impressions.

Technology

The walls are able to respond to the occupants via the technology of programmable matter. This type of material is being intensively researched at Carnegie Mellon University through the particular application of claytronics. In claytronics, small modular robots on the nano scale are programmed to link together in any combination forming any structure imaginable. The robots are fused together with electrostatic forces and nano velcro, allowing their bond and the resulting structure to be incredibly strong. Follow the links below for more information on this exciting technology.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programmable_matter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-reconfiguring_modular_robot
http://www.azonano.com/details.asp?ArticleID=38
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~claytronics/
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/%7Eclaytronics/movies/carDesign_12_vo_H264.mov