Very little work has been done on integrating microdynamical components into systems that satisfy mechanical tasks on macroscopic scales. In this work we are studying microdynamical components with appropriate controlling hardware to produce a surface which is actively deformable.
Active surfaces can operate on global or local surface characteristics.
In global surface control, an overall surface structure is prescribed and can change in time, as in an active airfoil where the lift must change over time. In local surface control, sensing, control and actuation all are accomplished locally in order to produce either a purely local or a global effect. For example, local control could be used to minimize local pressure gradients across a surface or to produce a global wave which propagates along the surface. In local control, the surface could be composed of cellular automata, where all necessary operations are carried out within each individual cell or a cell and its nearest neighbors, thus avoiding the difficulties of global interconnections. Specifically, bearing modeling, with integrated fluid dynamics and membrane solid mechanics, has resulted in a robust set of feasible membrane and static surface configurations.