This book discusses the relatively new branch of structural dynamics called adaptive structures. An adaptive structue is a structure that actually senses a change in its environment and adapts to compensate for forces applied against it. These structures contain sensors, actuators and controllers that sense a force from the environment and adjust the shape, making the structure more rigid or more flexible depending upon the force.
Robert L Clark
Strukturdynamik Technik / Maschinenbau, Fertigungstechnik