Catarina Mota: Play with smart materials

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Candice Wang 校对人员: Bi Chen

I have a friend in Portugal

我有一位葡萄牙朋友，

whose grandfather built a vehicle out of a bicycle

其祖父用一辆自行车和一台洗衣机

and a washing machine so he could transport his family.

改装成一辆汽车供家人乘用。

He did it because he couldn't afford a car,

他这样做，一是因为他买不起车，

but also because he knew how to build one.

但更重要的是因为他知道如何改装汽车。

There was a time when we understood how things worked

曾经，我们都懂得一些机械的工作原理，

and how they were made, so we could build and repair them,

也知道它们是怎么制造出来的，所以我们能够自己制作和维修它们.

or at the very least

或者至少

make informed decisions about what to buy.

基于我们的了解作出明智的购买决定。

Many of these do-it-yourself practices

但很多诸如此类的动手能力

were lost in the second half of the 20th century.

在20世纪的下半叶就流失了。

But now, the maker community and the open-source model

但是现在，制造者们和开放资源模式

are bringing this kind of knowledge about how things work

正在把事物的工作原理和材料构成的知识

and what they're made of back into our lives,

带回到我们的生活中。

and I believe we need to take them to the next level,

而我认为我们需要进行更深层次的挖掘,

to the components things are made of.

去研究和探索其构成的成分。

For the most part, we still know

通常来说我们还是知道，

what traditional materials like paper and textiles are made of

像纸和纺织品这样的传统材料是由什么做成的，

and how they are produced.

是如何生产的。

But now we have these amazing, futuristic composites --

但现在我们有了这些充满神奇和未来色彩的复合材料-

plastics that change shape,

如可以变形的塑料、

paints that conduct electricity,

可以导电的油漆、

pigments that change color, fabrics that light up.

可以变色的颜料和可以发光的织物。

Let me show you some examples.

让我来给你们展示一些样品。

So conductive ink allows us to paint circuits

这种导电墨水可让我们,

instead of using the traditional

抛弃传统的印刷电路板或电线的方法

printed circuit boards or wires.

而直接用导电墨水来画电路板。

In the case of this little example I'm holding,

比如我手里拿着的这个小装置，

we used it to create a touch sensor that reacts to my skin

是我们用导电墨水做成一个触摸性的传感器，

by turning on this little light.

一旦接触人的皮肤，这个小灯就会亮起。

Conductive ink has been used by artists,

导电墨水已经被艺术家们应用到创作中了,

but recent developments indicate that we will soon be able

最新的进展表明我们很快就能

to use it in laser printers and pens.

把它应用在激光打印机和激光笔中.

And this is a sheet of acrylic infused

这是一张泡浸过

with colorless light-diffusing particles.

无色光漫颗粒丙烯酸的纸.

What this means is that, while regular acrylic

只浸过普通丙烯酸的纸

only diffuses light around the edges,

只在其边缘周围有漫光现象,

this one illuminates across the entire surface

而这张浸过无色光漫颗粒丙烯酸的纸，当我们开灯时

when I turn on the lights around it.

漫光会照亮整张纸.

Two of the known applications for this material

就目前所知，这种材料已经被应用到

include interior design and multi-touch systems.

室内设计和多点触控系统两个领域中了。

And thermochromic pigments

而热变色颜料

change color at a given temperature.

在特定的温度下会改变颜色。

So I'm going to place this on a hot plate

我先把这张东西放到一个电热板上

that is set to a temperature only slightly higher than ambient

温度设定只要比外界温度稍高一点

and you can see what happens.

你就可以看到变化发生

So one of the principle applications for this material

除了其它用途，

is, amongst other things, in baby bottles,

这种材料主要应用于婴儿奶瓶的制造。

so it indicates when the contents are cool enough to drink.

当瓶内饮料凉到适和饮用的温度时人们就会看得到

So these are just a few of what are commonly known

这些只是我们通常所说的

as smart materials.

“智能材料”的一部分。

In a few years, they will be in many of the objects

几年内，它们将被应用到很多

and technologies we use on a daily basis.

我们日常使用的物件和科技产品上。

We may not yet have the flying cars science fiction promised us,

或许我们还看不到科幻小说内所描述的会飞的汽车，

but we can have walls that change color

但是我们能看到

depending on temperature,

会随温度变色的墙，

keyboards that roll up,

可以卷起来的键盘，

and windows that become opaque at the flick of a switch.

和一摁开关就变不透明的窗户。

So I'm a social scientist by training,

我是科班出身的社会学家，

so why am I here today talking about smart materials?

那为什么今天我要在这里讲智能材料？

Well first of all, because I am a maker.

首先，因为我是个制造者。

I'm curious about how things work

我对事物的工作原理

and how they are made,

和构成成分非常好奇，

but also because I believe we should have a deeper understanding

但我也相信我们应该对

of the components that make up our world,

构成我们这个世界的各种成分有更深的了解，

and right now, we don't know enough about

但现在，我们对于

these high-tech composites our future will be made of.

这些构成我们未来的高科技材料了解不够。

Smart materials are hard to obtain in small quantities.

要获得少量的智能材料是很难的。

There's barely any information available on how to use them,

有关如何使用这些材料的信息也很少，

and very little is said about how they are produced.

至于它们是如何制造的信息就更加少得可怜。

So for now, they exist mostly in this realm

目前，它们绝大多数都存在于

of trade secrets and patents

贸易机密和专利中，

only universities and corporations have access to.

只有一些大学和大公司才能得到。

So a little over three years ago, Kirsty Boyle and I

所以三年多以前，我和Kirsty Boyle

started a project we called Open Materials.

发起了一个叫做Open Materials（“开放材料”）的项目。

It's a website where we,

在那个网站上，我们

and anyone else who wants to join us,

和志同道合的一些人，

share experiments, publish information,

分享实验，发布信息，

encourage others to contribute whenever they can,

鼓励其他人为此作出力所能及的贡献，

and aggregate resources such as research papers

并且收集各种资源信息

and tutorials by other makers like ourselves.

包括其他制作爱好者的研究论文和教程等资源。

We would like it to become a large,

我们希望做成一个大规模的、

collectively generated database

集体生成的数据库，

of do-it-yourself information on smart materials.

储存与智能材料相关的第一手信息。

But why should we care

但是我们为什么要关心

how smart materials work and what they are made of?

智能材料的工作原理和构成呢？

First of all, because we can't shape what we don't understand,

首先，因为我们无法掌控我们不理解的东西，

and what we don't understand and use

而那些我们不理解和不会用的东西

ends up shaping us.

反过来会掌控我们。

The objects we use, the clothes we wear,

我们使用的东西，我们穿的衣服，

the houses we live in, all have a profound impact

我们住的房子，

on our behavior, health and quality of life.

都对我们的行为、健康和生活质量有着深远的影响。

So if we are to live in a world made of smart materials,

所以如果我们要生活在一个由智能材料构成的世界中，

we should know and understand them.

我们就应该知道并了解它们。

Secondly, and just as important,

其次，同样重要地，

innovation has always been fueled by tinkerers.

创新总是来源于修补匠。

So many times, amateurs, not experts,

很多时候， 是业余爱好者而非专家，

have been the inventors and improvers

发明和改进了诸如

of things ranging from mountain bikes

山地车、

to semiconductors, personal computers,

半导体、个人电脑、

airplanes.

甚至飞机等等。

The biggest challenge is that material science is complex

材料科学的最大挑战是它的复杂性，

and requires expensive equipment.

以及对昂贵的仪器的需求。

But that's not always the case.

但事实并非总是如此。

Two scientists at University of Illinois understood this

伊利诺伊大学的两名科学家就明白这个道理

when they published a paper on a simpler method

他们发表一篇论文

for making conductive ink.

旨在阐明制作导电墨水的更简便的方法。

Jordan Bunker, who had had

Jordan Bunker 在这一实验之前

no experience with chemistry until then,

是一个没有任何化学经验的人。

read this paper and reproduced the experiment

但他读了这篇论文后在他的工作间里

at his maker space using only off-the-shelf substances

用现成的物质和工具

and tools.

重复了这个实验。

He used a toaster oven,

他用了一个烤箱，

and he even made his own vortex mixer,

甚至在另一个科学家/制造者的教程的基础上

based on a tutorial by another scientist/maker.

自制了旋涡混合器。

Jordan then published his results online,

后来，Jordan在网上发表了他的实验结果，

including all the things he had tried and didn't work,

包括所有失败的实验结果，

so others could study and reproduce it.

这样其他人可以学习然后复制这一实验。

So Jordan's main form of innovation

所以Jordan主要创新方式

was to take an experiment created in a well-equipped lab

是在芝加哥的一个车库里

at the university

用便宜材料和自制的工具来重复了

and recreate it in a garage in Chicago

一个在设施齐全的大学实验室里

using only cheap materials and tools he made himself.

创造的实验。

And now that he published this work,

现在他发表了实验结果，

others can pick up where he left

其他人可以在他的基础上接着做下去

and devise even simpler processes and improvements.

并且尝试更简单的步骤并加以改进。

Another example I'd like to mention

我想分享的另外一个例子

is Hannah Perner-Wilson's Kit-of-No-Parts.

是Hannah Perner-Wilson的Kit-of-No-Parts.

Her project's goal is to highlight

她项目的目标是在强调

the expressive qualities of materials

材料丰富的表现力的同时

while focusing on the creativity and skills of the builder.

专注于制造者的创造力和制造技巧。

Electronics kits are very powerful

电子元件非常有地向我们展示了

in that they teach us how things work,

事物的工作原理

but the constraints inherent in their design

但其本身所固有的限制性

influence the way we learn.

约束了我们学习的方式。

So Hannah's approach, on the other hand,

所以Hannah的方法，在另一方面，

is to formulate a series of techniques

就是创制一系列的技术，

for creating unusual objects

来创造非常规的东西，

that free us from pre-designed constraints

通过展示材料的本质，

by teaching us about the materials themselves.

把我们从预先设定的约束中解放出来。

So amongst Hannah's many impressive experiments,

在Hannah众多令人钦佩的试验中，

this is one of my favorites.

这个是我的最爱之一。

["Paper speakers"]

["纸质扬声器"]

What we're seeing here is just a piece of paper

我们在这里看到的只不过是一张纸

with some copper tape on it connected to an mp3 player

上面的铜带连接着一个mp3播放器

and a magnet.

和一块磁铁。

(Music: "Happy Together")

（音乐："Happy Together"）

So based on the research by Marcelo Coelho from MIT,

在麻省理工学院教授Marcelo Coelho研究的基础上，

Hannah created a series of paper speakers

Hannah使用各种材料

out of a wide range of materials

包括普通的铜带、导电的纺织品和墨水等，

from simple copper tape to conductive fabric and ink.

创造了一系列纸质扬声器。

Just like Jordan and so many other makers,

就像Jordan和其他很多制造者一样，

Hannah published her recipes

Hannah公开了他的秘诀

and allows anyone to copy and reproduce them.

使得任何人可以模仿或重复这些实验。

But paper electronics is one of the most promising branches

但是纸上电子是材料科学中

of material science

最有前景的分支之一，

in that it allows us to create cheaper and flexible electronics.

因为它让我们能创造出便宜又灵活的电子产品。

So Hannah's artisanal work,

所以Hannah的手工作品，

and the fact that she shared her findings,

以及她分享了她的发现这个事实，

opens the doors to a series of new possibilities

为我们打开了一扇，

that are both aesthetically appealing and innovative.

通向兼具美学和创新的无限可能的大门。

So the interesting thing about makers

制造者的有趣之处在于

is that we create out of passion and curiosity,

我们创造是出于热情和好奇，

and we are not afraid to fail.

并且我们不害怕失败。

We often tackle problems from unconventional angles,

我们通常从非传统的角度处理问题，

and, in the process, end up discovering alternatives

并且，在这个过程中，发现其他方案

or even better ways to do things.

或者更好的方法。

So the more people experiment with materials,

所以当更多的人愿意用新材料做试验的时候，

the more researchers are willing to share their research,

更多的研究者就会愿意分享他们的研究成果；

and manufacturers their knowledge,

有更多的制造商分享他们的知识，

the better chances we have to create technologies

我们就更有可能

that truly serve us all.

创造出造福我们所有人的科技。

So I feel a bit as Ted Nelson must have

所以我的感觉有一点像Ted Nelson

when, in the early 1970s, he wrote,

在70年代初期的感觉一样，他写道，

"You must understand computers now."

“你们现在必需懂电脑。”

Back then, computers were these large mainframes

那个时候，电脑是只有科学家关心的

only scientists cared about,

大型机器，

and no one dreamed of even having one at home.

没有人会想到能够在家拥有一台。

So it's a little strange that I'm standing here and saying,

所以我今天站在这里说

"You must understand smart materials now."

“你们现在必需懂智能材料”有一点奇怪。

Just keep in mind that acquiring preemptive knowledge

请记住

about emerging technologies

先发制人去获取新兴科技的知识

is the best way to ensure that we have a say

是确保我们在对未来的创造中

in the making of our future.

有发言权的最好方式。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

(掌声)