If we are to live in a world of smart materials we should be able to understand how they work.

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Writing in Smart Materials and Structures, Yonas Tadesse said the jellyfish's simple swimming action made it an ideal model for a vehicle.

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Making a more serious point, smart materials DIY-er Catarina Mota explained why it was important to open up new technology to the general public.

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It's a smart use of materials to make the body seem a little more expensive and tactile given that it's just black plastic.

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Another designer has ideas to create "smart wings" with materials that change shape or have holes that can be open and closed to create the kind of airflow needed to maintain or reduce air speed.

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This is driving strong demand for smart grids, green building materials and the like.

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According to Dumary, his concept would contain 60 percent recycled materials with a smart zero watt standby mode.

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This is otherwise a hugely winning vehicle, with a lot of smart cabin details and premium materials all wrought in Ford's current design vocabulary, a sort of low-key, friendly futurism.

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It involves nurturing and directing inquisitiveness toward inventing smart ways to design and use everyday materials.

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