4 ms·
Self-erecting pneumatic structures (2000) [pdf]
- tornadofart 6y agoI guess nature proved a great inspiration again
- Maha-pudma 6y agoI have nothing constructive to add but there's definitely a crude/childish joke available with regards that title. It's really the only reason I stopped to look at the paper, which turned out quite interesting.
- murbard2 6y agoThe way in which they use each cushion as a separate cell to create structure is reminiscent of plants which get their rigidity from the osmotic pressure that pushes against the cell wall, also known as "turgescence".
- artemonster 6y agoI've surprisingly realised that I need to grow up, when I giggled at the title.
- Digit-Al 6y agoDon't. Growing up is overrated. As the old saying goes: growing older is mandatory, growing up is optional :-)
- Santosh83 6y agoIf I'm reading you correct, that'd be hydraulic rather than pneumatic.
- jagged-chisel 6y agoIt may be a bit of a stretch, but a certain International Man of Mystery might disagree.
- yowlingcat 6y agoSometimes, despite ourselves, we have to endeavor to maintain a stiff upper lip.
- DonHopkins 6y agoI know what you mean -- the word pneumatic cracks me up every time! ;) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU&ab_channel=NathanHarbert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuSDdJIcmHU&ab_channel=Natha...
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoWell...I have another interesting idea based on peristaltic locomotion of a robot bio inspired by earthworms. Hard pass?
- _Microft 6y agoOff-topic but maybe an interesting side comment: nature has also some very interesting structures that change with pressure. Pores in plants open and close by changing the turgor (pressure inside a cell) inside the cells lining the opening for example: See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoma#Opening_and_closing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoma#Opening_and_closing
- arnoooooo 6y agoAnd differential pressure make flowers open and close !
- wegs 6y agoClever! This seems like the sort of thing which could be adapted for amateur/DIY use. It seems like you just need some hardware, which could be manufactured cheaply and easily, air-tight fabric, and a way of joining those. I get the industrial / military / etc. uses, but I find the concept of anyone being able to build a temporary, usable structure in a custom configuration for a few hundred bucks a lot more interesting. Still air is also a pretty good insulator, so if this were enclosed, it'd be a pretty good shelter even in colder climates.
- Lio 6y agoIt’s a smaller scale (and a different structure) but I recently bought a Vango Project Hydrogen tent which uses a single “air beam” as its main structure instead of poles. Actually there is still 1 small pole involved but it’s not part of the main structure. That’s done to save weight whilst being more resistant to being deformed by the wind. I wonder if that could be taken further with these small cushions to provide insulation as well as structure as you suggest?
- jelliclesfarm 6y agoI have this idea for self erecting moveable structures made of ETFE.
- sbrorson 6y agoIt's more than an idea... https://www.federalfabrics.com/ https://www.federalfabrics.com/
- markvdb 6y agoThis reminds me of these crazy load bearing straw catenary [0] arch [1] buildings [2]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary_arch https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenary_arch [2] http://web.archive.org/web/20150331150513/http://ecobouwers.be/blog/filip-bronchart/en-de-bogen-dan http://web.archive.org/web/20150331150513/http://ecobouwers....
- vaccinator 6y agobouncy houses have been doing this for years... in other news some have concrete in them to make them more permanent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPAXH1DlwA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPAXH1DlwA
- DonHopkins 6y agoMake Nightmare Men in Blender - Lazy Tutorials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgfJIZEDY44&ab_channel=IanHubert https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgfJIZEDY44&ab_channel=IanHu...
- _xerces_ 6y agoThere are tents that use similar concepts such as this insulated one: https://www.cruaoutdoors.com/products/crua-cocoon-two-person-insulated-tent https://www.cruaoutdoors.com/products/crua-cocoon-two-person...