The worldwide first EAP propelled airship was made at Empa in collaboration with aeroix GmbH and the Technical University of Berlin. This lighter-than-air vehicle with 8 m in length consists of a slightly pressurized Helium filled body of a biologically inspired form with Dielectric Elastomer (DE) actuators acting as muscles and deforming the body and tail fin in a fish-like manner.

Empa is an interdisciplinary research and services institution for material sciences and technology development within the ETH Domain.

Here is the rest of the series-

How are carbon nanotubes made?

How can we see carbon nanotubes?

Where are nanotubes used?

Carbon nanoforms

Diana Eng’s beautiful Fairytale Fashion Show @ Eyebeam.
Check out fairytalefashion.org for more info.

This is great talk by Dominic Muren on the Digital Fabrication Ecosystem, given @ Dorkbot Seattle, Feb 3 2010. You can download the slides of the talk in PDF form here.

Muren, a design professor at the University of Washington, runs the Humblefactory, a product development consultancy offering strategic and design consulting in open hardware, user-assisted co-manufacture (hacking), and product design strategy. He also runs its counterpart blog Humblefacture. Check out one of his very interesting articles titled “The Blacksmith and the Hacker.”

A talk by Bath University Professor Adrian Boyer, creator of the RepRap 3D Printer, given @ FOSDEM.

(via Erik de Bruijn)

A mini documentary on RepRap Mendel shot at the University of Bath.