Analysis reveals the advances made in the development of industrial applications for smart, active, or engineered materials, including their use in smart structures
Smart materials are the basis for many future technologies used in medicine, manufacturing, and defence.
Potential applications cover a gamut, from embedded sensors that can monitor the strength of structures such as bridges to artificial muscles that can be controlled to expand and contract.
Research in smart materials is focused on developing technology to enhance ordinary objects or create unusual products by embedding sensors, processors, or actuators in them.
"Scientists use biological systems as models for developing smart systems," says Technical Insights analyst Joe Constance.
"Smart materials react to changes in stimuli such as temperature, moisture, pH, or electric and magnetic fields and perform sensing and actuating functions.
By incorporating sensors, actuators, and chip processors into systems, researchers are able to simulate biological, human-like behaviour." There is extensive scope for upcoming applications of smart materials.
Prospective applications for smart materials include fast-moving and accurate robotic parts, actuators that control chatter in precision machine tools, small microelectronic circuits in machines ranging from computers to photolithography printers, and health-monitoring fibres for bridges, buildings, and wood utility poles.
The future appears to belong to these advanced materials. In fact, smart materials could well be the one factor determining the success or failure of a product.
Recognising their potential and integrating them in new product development efforts will allow manufacturers to remain competitive in the 21st century markets.
A new analysis by Technical Insights, Smart Materials, reveals the advances made in the development of industrial applications for smart, active, or engineered materials.
It includes their use in smart structures and also the potential of these materials in the fields of automotive, aerospace, and industrial machinery.
The ongoing analysis on smart materials technologies is covered in High Tech Materials Alert, a Technical Insights subscription service, and in Piezoelectric Materials and Devices, a Frost and Sullivan Technical Insights technology report.
Smart Materials report code: D241.
