Origami robots aren’t exactly a new concept, but one engineer and his team at MIT have taken the idea and expanded on it, creating a robot that can assemble itself, walk, swim, and even dissolve.
The robot is made from a single sheet of material consisting of PVC, paper, and heat-shrinking plastic. When heat is applied, the plastic contracts, folding the robot into its intended shape. From there, it’s ready to get to work.
But what makes this particular origami robot extra special is its ability to degrade once its job is done. By using a special type of glue, the robot is able to dissolve in water. While the electronics don’t dissolve, they can be removed before submersion.
According to Daniela Rus, director of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the robot has potential uses in a variety of fields. In a disaster situation, the robots could be deployed to perform tasks and then dissolve, eliminating the need to recover them. They could also be used in environmental cleanup or even in medical applications.