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.
