MagiCurl – A STEM Kit for Learning Shape Memory Materials
Overview
NAMI has developed a STEM kit with its MagiCurl™, a trademarked elastomer filament made up with NAMI's shape memory elastic copolymer material – eMuscle.
Commercialisation opportunities
Non-exclusive licensing
Problem addressed
It aims to facilitate students to explore the science of shape memory materials through different challenges, as well as understand how they differ from ordinary elastic polymer materials that lack reconfigurability or auto-fitting properties.
Innovation
- eMuscle is a shape memory polymer that deforms when being stretched and returns to its original shape by applying heat under a designable temperature.
- It allows endless designing possibilities by adjusting the elongation length or stretching time of MagiCurl™ to create customizable spiral shapes.
Key impact
- Trigger temperature for shape recovery at about 40°C, being easy for children to control with temperature-safe operation
- Inspire children's creativity through imaginative play
- Good elasticity: over 300% elongation
- Good durability: the reversible loop-to-straight shape memory effect can be repeated by over 500 cycles
Award
- Bronze Medal at the “2024 Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions”
Application
- MagiCurl™ has also been used to produce a series of toy dolls that enable children to design hairstyles freely for creativity.
Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI)
As a Materials Expert, Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI) has a strong portfolio of innovative technologies to support and collaborate with the industry, offering frontier-applied research on advanced materials as well as technology transfer for commercialization success.
NAMI, incorporated in 2006, is designated by the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong Government as a Research and Development Center for nanotechnology and advanced materials. NAMI undertakes and provides support for market-driven research in nanotechnology and advanced materials, and strives for commercialization of the technologies to benefit the industry and the society at large, as well as re-industrialization to promote the economic growth and sustainability of Hong Kong.
Enquiry
