>> History of the shape memory alloys:

CHANG and READ discovered the shape memory effect in 1932 on a gold-cadmium alloy. That effect was then observed in 1938 on a copper-zinc alloy, then in 1963 on a nickel-titanium alloy.
In those days, the first industrial uses appeared, for instance, the joining mantle Raychem for the aircrafts F-14 in 1967. Since then, these materials have found uses in many industrial domains such as aeronautics, biomedicine, motoring, and clothing… They have several functions.

But, in the 70's and in the 80's, there had been lots of difficulties concerning the execution of that new technology. During that period, several scientific works had been done on those materials in order to set up new alloys and to determine the changes due to tiredness and ageing.

The experience acquired during those years lets reliable devices be realized.