This shape-changing pasta was conceived by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab as a new innovation to help reduce packaging and shipping costs for pasta products. Currently, up to 67% of the volume of a pasta package is air due to the clunky sizes and shapes of several pasta types, such as macaroni. Through the research led by MIT researchers Dr. Wen Wang and Dr. Lining Yao, pasta can now be packed much more compactly to save packaging material and space when shipping and distributing items.