Shape-shifting robots (w/ Video)
Thursday, August 5, 2010 - 08:21
in Physics & Chemistry
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. The researchers have developed algorithms that, given a three-dimensional shape, can determine how to reproduce it by folding a sheet of semi-rigid material with a distinctive pattern of flexible creases. To test out their theories, they built a prototype that can automatically assume the shape of either an origami boat or a paper airplane when it receives different electrical signals. The researchers reported their results in the July 13 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.