Shape shifting robot is flattest Transformer ever
Studded with magnets and electronic muscles known as actuators, a prototype robot developed at MIT can automatically fold itself into an airplane or an origami boat
Article Summary
If they were real, the Transformers harking from Cybertron would be considered pretty remarkable pieces of machinery. But their transforming abilities are limited to just two forms. By combining origami and electrical engineering, researchers at MIT and Harvard are working to develop the ultimate reconfigurable robot – one that can turn into absolutely anything. To test out their theories, the researchers built a prototype that can automatically assume the shape of either an origami boat or a paper airplane when it receives different electrical signals.
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