‘Smart’ consumer goods

Abstract

‘Smart’ technologies, which encompass both ‘smart’ materials and structures, are creating a sea-change in engineering practice. Their fusion of conventional structural materials with aspects of information technology, offerss the prospect of engineering systems which can sense their local environment, interpret changes in this environment and respond appropriately. Demonstrator projects exist world-wide exploring the range of possible applications for ‘smart’ technologies in sectors ranging from aerospace and civil engineering to automobile and marine. A common feature of such programmes is their use of relatively sophisticated technologies, examples including the use of fibre optic techniques for sensing and actuation based on functional materials such as piezoceramics, electro- and magnetostrictives and shape-memory alloys. The use of such advanced technologies is symptomatic of the strong technology push which has dominated the development of this field.