A similar but denser material, consisting of an electrodeposited nanocrystalline nickel layer over a polymeric rapid-prototyped truss, was created by researchers at the University of Toronto in 2008. In 2012, German researchers created a carbon foam known as aerographite, with an even lower density than a metallic microlattice. In 2013, Chinese scientists developed a carbon-based aerogel which was claimed to be lighter still.
Nanolattices like tube-based nanostructures are similar structures on a smaller scale.