Robot-shaped chain can change shape itself

The robot is capable of folding in various shapes and angles in three dimensions, similar to the way in which biological protein molecules stack up to fit the small size of the cell.

>>> Video: Introduction to link robot

MIT scientists are intending to build a series of interconnected magnetic motor modules. Each of these links is called a "milli-moteins" . They possess the ability to fold in various shapes and angles in three dimensions, similar to the way in which biological protein molecules stack up to fit the small size of the cell.

With the folding principle above, milli-moteins can also be associated with chain links near them to form a larger block, doing more work. So, in theory, MIT products can turn into anything that users want, as long as there are enough links needed.

The milli-moteins will be very diverse in size, from as small as molecules to larger masses that can fold into larger ones. In addition, once the shape has been changed, it will not take extra energy to maintain its state.

This technique is only in the early stages and every milli-moteins have only enough energy to move a neighboring chain. In the future, scientists plan to improve to increase this number to two or three by using a better material. The ultimate goal of the project is to create a cheap, durable, but powerful product that can serve a variety of industries. It takes a lot of time before this technology can be applied, but the potential for this device is still very large.