Australian Student wins International Award

The Squid Labs Start-up

Saul’s studies have fuelled many passions, amongst them “intelligent textiles that are active in that they monitor or react to their environment in an interesting way.” “That work and a few other textile projects will also be continued under my Squid Labs start-up. Squid Labs will be based in the bay area of California as I have to get away from Boston, because the long winters are driving me nuts!

“I need more sun, and more consistent wind to pursue my kitesurfing addiction. Fortunately the other squid labs founders share the addiction so our board meetings will be on the water....

“I also developed an electronic rope while at the media lab. I still have a big interest in textiles thanks to my father's influence. I will also be continuing that project under Squid Labs.

Basically it is a composite fibre mix that enables the rope to monitor it's own wear and loading conditions with a very simple electronic interface at one end of the rope. So what is your vision of your future?

“I love the work I am doing for my PhD thesis, but it is quite conceptual and a long way out. How do you build machines that build themselves programmatically from microscopic components and exhibit the beautiful properties of biological systems like self-repair, error-correction, replication, and fabulous 3D complexity. It is really early days.

“Perhaps I would best describe it as the challenge of understanding how a tree builds itself from a seed, and then using those concepts to build machines that grow. In general I think the huge opportunity for the future that I would love to see occur is taking bio-tech into bulk materials. All the focus right now is on biomedical applications and crop/agriculture type stuff.

“I'd like to think about and work on how to take biotech concepts into the fabrication of building materials, packaging materials that recycle themselves, growing parts and objects. Perhaps I don't have the skill set for it, but I am enamoured by the ideas.

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