DARPA origami

I wonder where DARPA got the idea for this stuff. HMMM…I seem to remember hearing of something out of New Mexico called, wait, what was it, oh yes, memory metal.

Even by the standards of the Pentagon fringe science arm, this project sounds far-out: that can be ordered to “self-assemble or alter their shape, perform a function and then disassemble themselves.” But researchers back by Darpa are actually making progress on this incredible goal, Henry Kenyon at Signal magazine reports.

One day, that could lead to “morphing aircraft and ground vehicles, uniforms that can alter themselves to be comfortable in any climate, and ’soft’ robots that flow like mercury through small openings to enter caves and bunker complexes.” A soldier could even reach into a can of unformed goop, and order up a custom-made tool or a “universal spare part.”

Read complete article here. {via Wired}