MIT's new origami robot looks like a tiny cube of aluminum foil, but don't let that fool you. It can assemble itself into a set of predetermined shapes, roll right along, and can be easily dissolved. Best of all, it's completely untethered.

The main feature is a magnet, which is layered with PVC and polystyrene. The transformation happens when that material meets a heating element, and then folds into shape origami-style. Rather than relying on wires, it moves in tandem with an external magnetic field that shapes its path. It's designed to either roll or walk, depending on what's needed, and dissolves in a bath of acetone.

Right now, the MIT researchers just have the shape; they haven't added sensors or any other sort of payload. But there are a lot of possible uses here. It could be used to navigate tight spaces, or, as Gizmodo points out, for medical purposes: build a tiny one, send it into the blood stream, dissolve it in the stomach. Or, on another planet, it could retrieve small soil samples or explore tiny crevices. (I know, our answer is always "on another planet.")

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Source: IEEE Spectrum via Gizmodo

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