IBM secures patent for 4D printing — smart material uses ML for transporting microparticles

IBM logo on a metallic surface
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Tech giant IBM secured a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on its technology for transporting microparticles using a 4D-printed smart material. According to the patent, these smart materials can use shape-memory alloys or polymers that respond to external forces like temperature, light, magnetism, or electrical currents.

After being deformed, the smart materials return to their original shape, allowing the researchers to induce movement in them and use them to transport minute-sized particles that would be difficult or impossible to transport using traditional delivery methods.

The user must initially set the delivery path and its environmental conditions and note the item's size, shape, weight, and composition to be delivered. Once completed, the machine learning algorithm applies the proper stimulus to move the material. This could be heat or light that causes one part or the other of the 4D material to respond, generating an action that results in an equal but opposite reaction.

IBM 4D printing patent

(Image credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office)

Aside from following the user's initial path, IBM’s machine language monitors the 4D-printed smart material for any deviations or blockages. It will resolve the situation, allowing the operation to proceed with little human intervention. All external stimuli are removed when it reaches its destination, allowing the smart material to deliver its payload.

This design allows for the delivery of microparticles between 1 and 100 microns in diameter. Furthermore, its different control methods mean it can travel through various media, making it useful for medical and industrial applications. For example, doctors and medical technologists could use this technique to deliver drugs to specific cells via the blood or the gastrointestinal tract. It could also be used for miniature electronics manufacturing and perhaps introduce a new semiconductor manufacturing method.

4D printing builds upon 3D printing technology, wherein the filament used for printing reacts to external stimuli. Researchers can then use this to generate movement, much like how a single-celled organism can move by using chemical reactions within its cell membrane.

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Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

  • Giroro
    The real 4th D was the friends we made along the way.
    Reply
  • usertests
    Finally, alien technology in the garage.
    Reply
  • gg83
    Giroro said:
    The real 4th D was the friends we made along the way.
    Sounds like something Bungie said about destiny 2 when it wasn't doing so well.
    Reply
  • gg83
    I read Timeline in 1998. The book talked about IBM back then. I believe IBM already knows the future but they have to keep it a secret. They do some phenomenal research.
    Reply
  • flowingbass
    I thought IBM figured out how to manipulate and print time now
    Reply
  • BwwwJ1st
    Not
    usertests said:
    Finally, alien technology in the garage.
    not quite Star Trek transporters, but eerily reminds me of Stargate replicators.
    Reply
  • JRStern
    God bless the patent office.
    Reply
  • passivecool
    was this not NDA until april 1?
    Reply
  • AlbertWesker
    Patents only protect you in countries that actually enforce them. This mostly just blocks Western companies from competing, while China doesn’t care about patents. The moment they see a working application, they’ll start mass-producing the hell out of it.
    Reply