“Researchers at the Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media Lab have created Aguahoja, a collection of natural artifacts that were digitally designed and robotically fabricated from the molecular components found in trees, insect exoskeletons, apples and bones. It uses natural ecosystems as inspiration for a material production process that produces no waste. Cellulose, chitosan, pectin and calcium carbonate are combined and compounded with high spatial resolution over material tunability producing biodegradable composites with mechanical, chemical and optical functional properties across length scales ranging from millimeters to meters. These water shaped skin-like structures (‘hojas’) are designed and manufactured as if they were grown: no assembly is required…”
