Abstract (deu)
Three-dimensional printing is slowly becoming less of a novel techno-scientific invention and more a part of mainstream consumption and public debate, such as in the case of the printing plan, which allows users to build products for numerous applications in everyday life. When talking about the material outcome of this technology, all things 3D printed have one thing in common: a rigid object. Many researchers are already thinking of future developments in the field: namely, 4D printing. Some scientists are developing a special type of material(s) that can change their behavior, reshape, or self-assemble over time. Today, the main body of literature on 4D printing covers the engineering aspects of this technology and less is said about its social characteristics. This master thesis investigates social characteristics and future social implications of additive manufacturing, as there is a gap in this dimension. The aim is to explore the imaginable future of 4D printing in terms of the social transformations that it may activate and to evaluate the costs and benefits of eventual mass exploitation of this technology in the future. This thesis focuses on the social role of 4D printing as well as the emerging opportunities and controversies which arise from its broader application, along with the roles of designers and users in shaping the social impacts of this technology. The project investigates how, in the Austrian context, the future of 4D printing is imagined for everyday life uses by the institutionalized engineers and non-institutional ‘"hackers"’ shaping the design process of the technology. How are visions of future expectations of additive manufacturing imagined, created, and defined by designers of this technology in Austria? How do they see its potential in shaping society in the future? What social implications can we expect from 3D/4D printing in the future?