<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/c77ac713-5e20-41c8-9406-e87611ff2ddf/5069DC86-BC43-42D0-8A27-127DDD5A32ED/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/" href="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/" style="font-size: 11px;">content5.clipmarks.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><P>German designer <A href="http://www.eltopo.de/">Stefan Ulrich</A> has designed a conceptual shape-changing object to relieve loneliness, using artificial muscle technology.<SPAN id="more-43169"></SPAN></P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><P>For his thesis project Ulrich conducted research into plastics that change shape when an electric current is applied, called electroactive polymers.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><P>Ulrich suggests that in the future these materials could allow objects to change shape and surface texture.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><P>He envisions that people will turn to robots for the illusion of a living presence to satisfy their emotional needs.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><P>One day active materials such as electroactive polymers will drastically change the way we perceive products. Products will gain new dimensions ranging from changing tactile surfaces over active membranes to morphing shapes. Products of the future will be “alive” in a way. The results of that research actually led to create a vision of how the future of product design might evolve under the given premises.</P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://content5.clipmarks.com/content/816906F3-C77D-4889-B142-FF31D6E35A8F/"><div align="center"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5509560&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=00ADEF&fullscreen=1" height="329" width="400" wmode="opaque" quality="high" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" t="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></div></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/5069DC86-BC43-42D0-8A27-127DDD5A32ED/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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