Wright Brothers' wing flexing, in the next-gen control aerodynamics

[botsapper]

Seamless control surfaces and contours; flexible variable geometry skin. Proprietary fabric/textile materials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZpAHxMj5lU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS3ry-e8vbw

[Fat Charlie]

I read that this morning, it's truly amazing.

But when will Boeing and Airbus develop it, and for which particular airframes?
After that, when will the FAA approve it?

[kach22i]

Not too much more than fabric wrapping a conventional wing at first glance.

Sure there are fluted sections at the critical transitional areas, but it's not as wholesale as the original Wright designs from what I can tell.

The Wrights flexed the whole wing and tips of the wing not just the trailing edges as flaps do.

It's a good start though, hope they keep working on it.

[Cd]

This doesn't have anything to do with wing flexing, but it is interesting and would work along side something like the wing flexing : " /aircraft-set-to-become-more-human-as-engineers-develop-smart-skins-which-can-detect-injury;"

EDIT : I tested the link and it reroutes to their main page. Gasholes !
I copied a bit of the article i wanted to post here, and here it is :

" Engineers at our Advanced Technology Centre are investigating a ‘smart skin’ concept which could be embedded with tens of thousands of micro-sensors. When applied to an aircraft, this will enable it to sense wind speed, temperature, physical strain and movement, far more accurately than current sensor technology allows.

The revolutionary ‘smart skin’ concept will enable aircraft to continually monitor their health, reporting back on potential problems before they become significant. This would reduce the need for regular check-ups on the ground and parts could be replaced in a timely manner, increasing the efficiency of aircraft maintenance, the availability of the plane and improving safety.

These tiny sensors or ‘motes’ can be as small as grains of rice and even as small as dust particles at less than 1mm squared. Collectively, the sensors would have their own power source and when paired with the appropriate software, be able to communicate in much the same way that human skin sends signals to the brain. The sensors are so small that we are exploring the possibility of retrofitting them to existing aircraft and even spraying them on like paint. "

As far as wing flexing, and it's application to automobiles, I can image a future in which vehicles take a different shape 'on the fly' based on pressure sensors in the skin much like the one in the linked article above.