Form and function are long believed to be tightly coupled. While scientists have studied this relation for centuries, the recent popularity of 3D scans and models provides new avenues to revisit the problem.

Prof Mitra discussed the latest in computational analysis techniques, to discover relations and structures from unorganised image and object collections. Beyond analysis, the results lead to new methodologies to design functional objects for physical use. He also discussed computational tools that support functional prototyping, guided designing, and material-aware modelling.

Watch Prof Niloy Mitra's Needham lecture