Smart Structures—a Concept or a Reality?

A smart structure has intelligence and reaction capability embedded within it. Consequently, via a sensor and actuator network, it can respond to external environmental or operational requirements. The most obvious driving force stimulating the need for smart structures lies within the aerospace industry but civil engineering interests have already exploited the ideas in, for example, compensating for earth tremors. There may even be a potential to be exploited by a future generation of toy manufacturers.

This paper will illustrate the principles underlying the concepts referring to current, evolving and futuristic technologies. It will also assess the present exploitation of the basic ideas and will indicate future trends, making the comparison between European, Japanese and American philosophies towards this rapidly evolving subject.

The successful exploitation of smart structure concepts will prove to be vital in twenty-first-century engineering. Potential paths whereby this exploitation may be realized in a European context will be discussed.