This paper looks at both the technical and socioeconomic factors that challenge the growth of smart materials and structures (SMS). Topics like human interaction and teaming, the litigious nature of society, the impact 'smart' philosophies are having on commercial sectors, future computing technologies, and others are discussed. This paper necessarily includes some conjecture, with which the reader may or may not agree. In the end, the goal of this paper is to stimulate thought on both the technical and non-technical requirements of developing the technology known as smart structures. The information contained in this paper intentionally draws from sources not commonly seen by practitioners in the SMS field in an effort to broaden awareness and to avoid rehashing technologies and concepts that are discussed time and again in our own literature. Through defendable engineering concepts, popular opinion, and a touch of personal bias, this paper simply tries to divine what it takes to be 'smart.'

Date Published: 30 May 1996
PDF: 15 pages
Proc. SPIE 2718, Smart Structures and Materials 1996: Smart Sensing, Processing, and Instrumentation, (30 May 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.240851

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2718:
Smart Structures and Materials 1996: Smart Sensing, Processing, and Instrumentation
Kent A. Murphy; Dryver R. Huston, Editor(s)