flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

MIT develops ‘river of 3D pixels’ to assemble objects

BIM and Information Technology

MIT develops ‘river of 3D pixels’ to assemble objects

The Kinetic Blocks can manipulate objects into shapes without human interference.


By Adilla Menayang, Asistant Digital Editor | October 29, 2015
MIT develops ‘river of 3-D pixels’ to assemble objects

The Kinetic Block by MIT's Tangible Media Group

Researchers at MIT are finding ways to make objects and buildings construct themselves, such as this rock-and-string structure MIT collaborated with ETH Zurich on display at the Chicago Biennial.

Another addition to the self-building portfolio is Kinetic Blocks. Developed by MIT’s Tangible Media Group, the shapeshifting display of computer-controlled pins can manipulate objects to take form.

According to Fast Company, Kinetic Blocks is a “flatbed ‘shape display’ with a Microsoft Kinect as an overhanging eye.” The device can stock, rotate, twist, and move blocks without any human intervention. “It can even construct preprogrammed structures,” the article says.

Related Stories

| Aug 11, 2010

People+Firms

| Aug 11, 2010

Take the hassle out of managing subcontractors

As general contractors look to technology for an edge in the slowing commercial construction market, Web-based bidding programs are helping them to connecting bid information, subcontractors, and proposals. A 2008 survey by the Construction Financial Management Association found that 62% of general contractors participated in Web-based construction bidding vs.

| Aug 11, 2010

Wisconsin becomes the first state to require BIM on public projects

As of July 1, the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities will require all state projects with a total budget of $5 million or more and all new construction with a budget of $2.5 million or more to have their designs begin with a Building Information Model. The new guidelines and standards require A/E services in a design-bid-build project delivery format to use BIM and 3D software from initial ...

| Aug 11, 2010

News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement

News Briefs: GBCI begins testing for new LEED professional credentials... Architects rank durability over 'green' in product attributes... ABI falls slightly in April, but shows market improvement

| Aug 11, 2010

Luxury Hotel required faceted design

Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building.

| Aug 11, 2010

Architectural Visualization Rendering the Future

Three-dimensional design tools have revolutionized the way architects and engineers design buildings; in recent years, parametric modeling has enabled Building Teams to impart weight tolerances and other intelligent information to a finished design. Yet many designers say they use 3D most in the conceptual design stage, when detailed building information is not necessary and can actually encumb...

| Aug 11, 2010

Big-time BIM

As the need for new state, county, and municipal facilities keeps growing and funding for public building construction continues to shrink, state and local officials are left with two basic options: renovate dilapidated older buildings and hope for the best, or build new facilities on anemic budgets.

| Aug 11, 2010

Dotting the I in IPD

Collaboration software is going beyond just sharing files. It is being used to enable full building information modeling early in design. Two programs are enabling Building Teams to more easily share the information in BIM and use it for integrated project delivery: Bluebeam Software, which just released the newest version of its AEC-specific PDF collaboration tool; and eBuilder Enterprise, a W...

| Aug 11, 2010

Great Solutions: Business Management

22. Commercial Properties Repositioned for University USE Tocci Building Companies is finding success in repositioning commercial properties for university use, and it expects the trend to continue. The firm's Capital Cove project in Providence, R.I., for instance, was originally designed by Elkus Manfredi (with design continued by HDS Architects) to be a mixed-use complex with private, market-...

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category




Great Solutions

41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors

AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021