In the "this could be big, but not just yet" department is Metal Rubber.
Metal Rubber, a filmy brown material that can extend to three times its original length and conduct electricity as well as a bar of steel...
Few major companies have yet stepped up to announce any official plans for the novel new polymer, but SRI International may experiment with Metal Rubber to construct artificial muscles and astronomical mirrors, and reports say that Lockheed Martin is using it to create aircraft wings with more give.
Yet, there are huge potential ramifications for everything from jet liners to medical devices. Think flexible circuits and displays that take your laptop and cell phone to the next level of shock resistance. Or artificial limbs that can bend like their real counterparts.
Of course, what immediately came to mind for me was the application of a flexible conductive material to wearable fabric computers. The furoshiki future gets closer every day.
