Shape-shifting robots (MIT and Harvard)

Some exciting developments at MIT and Harvard:

Self-folding sheets of a plastic-like material point the way to robots that can assume any conceivable 3-D structure.

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...

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.