Self-assembling Chairs – The MIT Gimmick

‘’Self-assembling’’ is an attribute which does not naturally accompany household objects like furniture, but it seems that The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has come up with the concept of the self-assembling chair. The process of choosing the perfect-fitting furniture when redecorating is chore number one, but assembling the purchased pieces is the ultimate challenge – this if you are not the manufacturer of the items or a trained carpenter. Rest assured, the latest MIT gimmick does not free anyone from the tiring chore of assembling one’s pieces of furniture, but a few years from now, you might be facing the self-shaping of your own chairs – now, only the demo version of the process is available.

The latest project presented by the MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab is known as Fluid Assembly Furniture. The undergoing project is led by research scientist Skylar Tibbits, who has previously worked with programmable materials and his group has now come up with the study of how structures are able to assemble themselves in fluid environments. The scientists prove their breakthroughs with a short video showing a chair which self-assembles while in a tank full of water.

The white self-assembling chair in the Fluid Assembly project is the size of 15cm by 15cm and obviously two small for practical use, but we must consider that research is still in progress in order to enhance final results. At an incipient phase, we are given six white blocks which connect by magnets. Thrown inside the tank full of fluid, the pieces eventually unite with the aid of water turbulence. Baily Zuniga, a student in the science lab explained how ‘’At close proximity, each piece should easily connect with its corresponding component but never with another one’’, adding that ‘’Finding a way to make the pieces more interchangeable would increase the probability of the pieces finding their matches.’’ In this manner, a faster assembly would be assured, according to the scientist’s quotes (via Wired). Of course, the equation is sophisticated and has as main variable the balance between randomness and self-control within the daring Fluid Assembly: Chair Test.