Self-contained, chemically inflated structures

Auto-inflatables explores the design space of self-inflating structures. By using chemical reactions as a source of carbon dioxide on-demand, we are able to induce a wide range of interaction-triggered transformations in our designs. These include changes of shape, volume, texture, temperature, color, and movement. With these techniques, self-contained actuation can be achieved without the need for external hardware to activate material changes.

In collaboration with Penny Webb (Lead design and research) Amos Golan (Chemical Engineer), Valentina Sumini (Architect), Chrisoula Kapelonis (Designer), Jifei Ou (Materials Expert), Hiroshi Ishii (Advisor) at the MIT Media Lab.

Shape-changing structures

Inflatable structures within the field of design have been explored in many capacities from structure, to buoyancy, to air travel. In the scope of this work, we explored the use of self-inflating structures from two perspectives, one, as a means to promote surprise through animation and shape transformations, and two, as a functional tool for things such as distributed assembly processes, transportation of goods, emergency response and architecture.

Architecture of fabrication

By combining our research with the development of specific geometric forms, we create a variety of primitive functionalities that can be adopted by us as well as others for their own explorative applications.

Functional applications

Tournitape is an application for this research. The project stems from the need for rapid compression devices on the battlefront, and in emergency civilian situations. We designed a new kind of self-inflating, tearable bandage that can be executed by pushing the cells to trigger the inflating solution. This project was designed for the MD5 Hacking Emergency Response Hackathon that looked towards the potential for advanced functional fabrics in challenging environments. The event was hosted by the DoD (Department of Defense), MIT Innovation Initiative, and AFFOA (Advanced Functional Fabrics of America)

For more information about the project, visit the MIT Project page, and the MD5 Challenge