5 March 1998: Researchers at Xerox Parc, the US Xerox group“s research centre in Palo Alto, US, are working on a project which will enable man to control the way in which materials such as wood, iron…
5 March 1998: Researchers at Xerox Parc, the US Xerox group“s research centre in Palo Alto, US, are working on a project which will enable man to control the way in which materials such as wood, iron, plastic and even glass respond to the forces of nature. The project is known as “Mems”, which stands for “micro-electronic-mechanical systems”, and its objective is to create “smart matter”. The new technology involves the integration into building materials of mechanical systems and microscopic sensor/memory components able to recognize heat and movement. This microchip technology would thus enable buildings to “react” to the forces of nature. A skyscraper situated in a seismic zone would, for example, make itself bend with the tremors of the earthquake. Airbags in cars operate on a similar principle. As Davi Begelsen, a scientist at Xerox Parc, puts it, “computers will grow noses, eyes and ears”, with Mems technology bridging the gap between the physical world and the electronic world. So far, researchers at the Silicon Valley research centre have been able to get iron rods to become flexible when subjected to heavy weights. They estimate, however, that it will take another ten years to make significant progress in concentrating an increasing number of transistors into increasingly microscopic areas.