Emerging smart materials systems

Smart materials systems are nonliving systems that integrate the functions of sensing, actuation, logic and control to respond adaptively to changes in their condition or the environment to which they are exposed, in a useful and usually repetitive manner. Smart materials possess both sensing and actuation capability. They can adaptively respond to changing stimuli, e.g., the variable darkening of photochromic glass or plastic on exposure to sunlight. Such passively smart materials behavior has relatively limited, although marketable, functionality.