[ImageLibrary##307119/Any##Title¬Andras Forgacs##Description¬"We will see advances in lab-grown materials with unique qualities.
These may mimic nature with a fraction of the environmental footprint"]
This article was taken from the September 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Wired asks a selection of academics and business types for their thoughts on this month's big question: "What materials will we invent in the next decade?"
Oron Catts
Director, SymbioticA "As biology turns into an engineering pursuit, life is becoming a raw material. In the next decade we will see attempts to use living and lifelike systems as smart materials that self-assemble, self-heal and perform different functions. Some will escape our control and will transmute into weeds and pests. Welcome to the new ecology."
Zoe Laughlin
Cofounder and director, The Institute of Making "I believe we will see the advancement of 3D-printing technologies to enable the creation of new materials. Once the resolution of printing is at the micro scale and below, printing becomes nanoengineering. New structures become possible which could result in transparent metals, conductive woods, impenetrable plastics."
Andras Forgacs
Cofounder, Modern Meadow "We will see advances in lab-grown materials with unique qualities. These may mimic nature with a fraction of the environmental footprint. We'll see lab-grown and improved versions of leather, ivory and horn. Edible products such as cultured meat, with better nutritional qualities, will take longer, but may still be on a few tasting events' menus."
Zach Kaplan
CEO, Inventables "In the next decade we are going to see all sorts of speciality 3D-printer filament. You'll see filaments with electronic particles mixed in them, so you can print circuit boards, and filaments with tiny microsensors inside. The internet of things is going to give rise to an entire generation of contextually aware and responsive materials."
Jim Biddulph
Projects and materials manager, Material Lab "Materials will have to become more sustainable as we tackle ongoing environmental concerns. And because of demands on space, manufacturers will have to stock fewer products, so 'made to order' will become more mainstream. This also reduces waste and will make it more affordable for people to get exactly what they want."
Thorsten Klooster
Cofounder, BlingCrete "We will use common materials such as concrete, paper or clay, with smart features including light-reflecting, conductive and sensing properties. This new genre of high-tech, low-budget materials with their own social, public-spirited logic of use will be practical for co-operative methods of project-oriented, collaborative design and building."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
