It may sound like a machine from a sci-fi film, but a tiny self-folding ‘origami' robot that can walk and swim, before self-destructing, has been revealed.

Small enough to sit on a fingertip and weighing less than a third of gram, the device is controlled by a magnetic field and can even carry heavy loads, relative to its own size and weight.

If it becomes small enough, such a robot could one day been used in surgery to perform medical tasks from the inside of the body, before dissolving.

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A tiny self-folding ‘origami robot that can walk (pictured navigating obstacles) and swim, before self-destructing, has been revealed

It is the first time a robot has been able to go through a whole ‘life cycle,’ the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE’s)Spectrum magazine reported.

The device, which measures just two thirds of an inch (1.7cm) in length, was developed by a team from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and the Technische Universität München.

The researchers have been working on origami-inspired machines since 2012.

Their latest tiny robot is made from a sheets of PVC and laser-cut layers of polystyrene and paper with a magnet inside it.

Once heated, it folds into an origami shape in less than a minute.

It is the first time a robot has been able to go through a whole ‘life cycle'. Here, the bot that's controlled by an electric field, can be seen walking along a person's palm

Small enough to sit on a fingertip and weighing less than a third of gram, the device is controlled by a magnetic field and can even carry heavy loads, relative to its own size and weight. The top part of this image shows how the sheet of PVC is folded, while its walking and swimming action is illustrated beneath

In a video, the robot can be seen zipping around at speeds of one-and-a-half inches (between three and four centimetres) per second, swimming, climbing slopes and pushing double its weight, by vibrating.

This is due to an external magnetic field, which is projected from four coils in a box beneath it, without the need for a battery in the robot itself.

The magnetic field doesn't simply drag the device along but causes the magnet inside it to oscillate backwards and forwards.

The robot is able to move thanks to an external magnetic field, which is projected from four coils in a box beneath it (pictured), without the need for a battery in the robot itself. Currently, the machine can be instructed to self-destruct by entering a tank full of acetone (also illustrated), which dissolves everything but the magnet

The magnetic field doesn't simply drag the device along but causes the magnet inside it to oscillate backwards and forwards so its legs make contact with the ground, allowing it to walk and push objects (shown)

This means its front and back ‘legs’ make contact with the ground, which when combined with the bot being slightly heavier at the front, make it walk along.

The origami shape also means it’s more efficient at moving objects and digging than using a simple magnet.

The robot can be instructed to self-destruct, by being driven into a tank of acetone where it dissolves, only leaving a tiny magnet behind.

Experts believe it will be possible to make all traces of the robot disappear in future, as well as making it operate independently from inside the body.

The tiny robot was shown off at the IEEE’s International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Seattle.