https://medium.com/extremetech-access/nasa-mit-design-hollow-morphing-airplane-wing-b20b3cc8f3a2

The airplanes of the future could have wings that look nothing like the ones we have today, based on a new project from NASA and MIT. A team of engineers developed a new kind of wing composed of hundreds of individual pieces that could be lighter and more energy-efficient.

The approach demonstrated by NASA and MIT would allow the entire surface of the wing to deform because it uses a mix of stiff and flexible repeating segments. The tiny subassemblies are bolted together in an open framework and covered with a thin layer of polymer.