The 2012 OCTOPUS-EVRYON &WSK-TNg Summer School was organized in Roma, Italy from 24 to 29 June, 2012.  The School focused on the theme of:  ‘Smart materials, sensors, and actuators within embodied intelligence systems’. Prof Thomas Speck (University of Freiburg, Germany) gave a lecture on ‘Biomimetic materials: Lightweight constructions and self-adaptation inspired by nature’.