Robots Self-Assemble When Baked

Jun-05-14 Researchers at MIT have taken printable robots to the next level with their 'bakable' robots, which can fold when heated to automatically assemble themselves.

The key to the self-folding technology lies in a technique that allows the designers to precisely control the angles at which the material folds. This was accomplished by placing a sheet of PVC between two thin sheets of stiff polyester that have been etched with an array of slits of different widths. Heating the material causes the PVC to shrink, closing the slits and causing the edges of the polyester to deform the PVC—resulting in the desired 3D shape.

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[GIZMAG.COM]
[MIT]

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