Furl: The EEG-Responsive, Soft Robotics Future Of Architecture, from FastCompany:
…They look like rubber tentacles. They unfurl like tongues. But these organic appendages with “air muscles” that inflate and bubble might just be the future of your office building.
Furl: Soft Pneumatic Pavilion, a graduate project by Bijing Zhang and Francois Mangion at the Interactive Architecture Lab at the Bartlett School of Architecture of University College London, is an exploration of adaptive, soft robotic, “breathing” buildings. It’s part of the responsive architectural trend that includes the use of “biometal” to regulate building temperatures, digital feathers that filter the air, and silkworms that weave pavilions.
These soft robotic components allow for unprecedented ability to bend, fold, change shape, and otherwise adapt to the needs of building occupants. The wagging arms are programmed to read human brain waves.
The “gestures” are programmed when the silicone casts are made, predicting how the arm would move if certain air pockets were inflated. But the actual air flow can be controlled via EEG readings….
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