Self-folding robotic paper

post from Ubergizmo on 30 June 2010 01:08:25 PM. © Ubergizmo

When you see a piece of paper, what comes into your mind? Could it be the future canvas for the next Leonardo da Vinci? In the eyes of Harvard's Robert Wood and his team, they see the potential for it to be a robotic paper which has been programmed to bend itself into different shapes, making it a primitive form of Transformers, so to speak. Actuators which are strategically located along the surface of the page will work in tandem to push and pull in different parts until you end up with a variety of delightful origami shapes and sizes such as an airplane or even a crane. Of course, a less aesthetically pleasing application for such a piece of paper would be a paper cup being able to resize itself depending on the amount of beverage you plan to tote inside. It is anybody's guess on how much paper cups will cost then though with such technology implemented. Check out a video of it in action in the extended post.

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