Skylar Tibbits: Can we make things that make themselves?

researcher works on self-assembly — the idea that instead of building something (a chair, a skyscraper), we can create materials that build themselves, much the way a strand of zips itself together. It’s a big concept at early stages; Tibbits shows three in-the-lab projects that hint at what a self-assembling future might look like.

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A robot that flies like a bird

Plenty of robots can fly — but none can fly like a real bird. That is, until Markus Fischer and his team at Festo built SmartBird, a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull, that flies by flapping its wings. A soaring demo fresh from TEDGlobal 2011.

is a daily podcast of the best talks and performances from the Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, on , on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the “Sixth Sense” wearable tech, and “Lost” producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for , Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts.

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Philippe Starck: Why Design?

Designer — with no pretty slides to show — spends 18 minutes reaching for the very roots of the question “Why ?” Listen carefully for one perfect mantra for all of , genius or not.

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Steven Cowley: Fusion is Energy’s Future

Physicist Steven Cowley is certain that nuclear fusion is the only truly sustainable solution to the fuel crisis. He explains why fusion will work — and the projects that he and many others have devoted their lives to, working against the clock to create a new source of energy.

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Talks Eric Giler Demos Wireless Electricity

wants to untangle our wired lives with cable-free electric power. Here, he covers what this sci-fi tech offers, and demos ’s version, WiTricity — a near-to-market that may soon recharge your cell , , pacemaker.

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