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[Wilsongt]

Robot folds itself up and walks away: Demonstrates potential for sophisticated machines that build themselves

Need some good news on GAF.

A team of engineers used little more than paper and Shrinky dinks™ -- the classic children's toy that shrinks when heated -- to build a robot that assembles itself into a complex shape in four minutes flat, and crawls away without any human intervention. The advance, described in Science, demonstrates the potential to quickly and cheaply build sophisticated machines that interact with the environment, and to automate much of the design and assembly process. The method draws inspiration from self-assembly in nature, such as the way linear sequences of amino acids fold into complex proteins with sophisticated functions.

"Getting a robot to assemble itself autonomously and actually perform a function has been a milestone we've been chasing for many years," said senior author Rob Wood, Ph.D., a Core Faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University and the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The team included engineers and computer scientists from the Wyss Institute, SEAS, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

In addition to expanding the scope of ways one can manufacture robots in general, the advance harbors potential for rather exotic applications as well.

"Imagine a ream of dozens of robotic satellites sandwiched together so that they could be sent up to space and then assemble themselves remotely once they get there-they could take images, collect data, and more," said lead author Sam Felton, who is pursuing his Ph.D. at SEAS.

The robots are the culmination of a series of advances made by the team over the last few years, including development of a printed robotic inchworm -- which still required human involvement while folding itself -- and a self-folding lamp that had to be turned on by a person after it self-assembled.

The new robot is the first that builds itself and performs a function without human intervention.

 

[Vincent Alexander]

Dammit. I want to see a video. Sounds awesome.

 

[Graphics Horse]

I never asked for this

 

[SwiftDeath]

Dammit. I want to see a video. Sounds awesome.

Video of it is here

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/162/robot-folds-itself-up-and-walks-away

Or for a vimeo only link

http://vimeo.com/102049447

Motion starts at around 1:02 mark

 

[Wilsongt]

Video of it is here

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/162/robot-folds-itself-up-and-walks-away

Or for a vimeo only link

http://vimeo.com/102049447

Motion starts at around 1:02 mark

Holy shit, lol. The way it walks. Definitely needs to be mastered into a "Fuck it, I'm out" gif.

 

[SocksAndShoes]

The first step towards grey goo.

We are already dead.

 

[Protein]

They should put 100 of these in the next Republican National Convention.

 

[CountAntonius]

This robot was made for "Abandon thread" gifs.

 

[_Ryo_]

This is almost a transformer.

Step 1. Insert IBM Neuron Chip
Step 2. Send to far away Planet
Step 3. Robots become sentiment.
Step 4. Robots create a civilization
Step 5. Robots begin space exploration
Step 6. Robots take over Earth
Step 7. ????
Step 8. Profit.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

Video of it is here

http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/162/robot-folds-itself-up-and-walks-away

Or for a vimeo only link

http://vimeo.com/102049447

Motion starts at around 1:02 mark

That was very unimpressive.

 

[Mr. Sam]

From the article:

The sheet was a composite of paper and Shrinky dinks™, which is also called polystyrene...

I know what polystyrene is, I've no idea what a shrinky dink is or why it would be used over, you know, the name of the material.

 

[Syriel]

From the article:



I know what polystyrene is, I've no idea what a shrinky dink is or why it would be used over, you know, the name of the material.

Americans would be more likely to know Shrinky Dinks over polystyrene.

It was a pretty big kid's toy/activity.

 

[FelixOrion]

 

[Tunesmith]

"It builds itself and just walks away..."

Made me think of the inevitable South Park take on this concept of something really really complex and hugely hyped, just walking away.

 

[SRG01]

Y'know, this isn't the first time Shrinky Dinks have been used in science and miniaturization. It really is a useful material for research

 

[M3d10n]

I lost my shit when it started "walking" like after taking so fucking long to slowly fold itself.

 

[echoshifting]

From the article:



I know what polystyrene is, I've no idea what a shrinky dink is or why it would be used over, you know, the name of the material.

Well, I know what shrinky dinks are but not polystyrene. Should we start a poll?

 

[Tom Nook]

We already have a "F it, I'm out" robot.

 

[Tenumi]

This is almost a transformer.

Step 1. Insert IBM Neuron Chip
Step 2. Send to far away Planet
Step 3. Robots become sentiment.
Step 4. Robots create a civilization
Step 5. Robots begin space exploration
Step 6. Robots take over Earth
Step 7. ????
Step 8. Profit.

Hmm... You know, that's not such a bad idea. Let robots figure out the space exploration stuff for us!

 

[B-B-Bomba!]

Really needed that laugh. Thank you ...

 

[Jarrod38]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyltK6pmJGg