Scientists at MIT’s Self-Assembly lab have created a smartphone that’s capable of building itself.
Ok so we’re not talking about a Transformers level of reconstruction here but what it can do is still mightily impressive.
Skylar Tibbits and his team have been working on creating a smartphone that is built using modular components which then ‘talk’ to each other. In this rather crude example the different parts are thrown around together and by making contact are gradually positioned into a final form.
MIT’s Assembly Lab have created the concept or any particular purpose other than to experiment with how modular designs can be incorporated into self-assembly.
What it does mean though is that in the future a phone could be manufactured so that when dropped it will automatically break into deliberately separate pieces, which can then be easily re-attached afterwards.
These Are The Robots And Drones That Are Going To Change Our Lives:
Robots that can deliver other robots:
Amazon/AP
Amazon Prime Air is a drone delivery service which the company is currently testing. The company aims to deliver products within just 30 minutes of the customer pressing the 'order' button. (AP Photo/Amazon)
Robots that could soon be saving lives:
MARK RALSTON via Getty Images
The robot 'CHIMP' developed by Team Tartan Rescue from the US prepares to complete a task during the finals of the
DARPA Robotics Challenge. It is hoped that these robots will eventually replace emergency services workers during events like the Fukushima nuclear disaster. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Robots that can carry your stuff:
MARK RALSTON via Getty Images
A robotic cheetah runs during a demonstration at the finals of the DARPA Robotics Challenge. DARPA's four-legged robots have been designed to carry supplies and ammunition for the US Army. Capable of travelling over tough terrain the hope is that these will eventually replace the need for trucks or small vehicles. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Robots that can kill:
AFP via Getty Images
A sentry robot freezes a hypothetical intruder by pointing its machine gun during its test in Cheonan. South Korea unveiled a high-tech, machine gun-toting sentry robot that could support its troops in detecting and killing intruders along the heavily fortified border with North Korea. The weapons-grade robot can detect, raise the alarm and provide suppressive fire. (KIM DONG-JOO/AFP/Getty Images)
Robots that can race each other:
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO via Getty Images
Japan's motorcycle maker Yamaha Motor introduces the prototype model of a motorcycle riding robot 'Motobot' during a press preview at the Tokyo Motor Show in Tokyo on 28, 2015.(YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images)
Robots that are toys:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The
Sphero BB-8 remote controlled droid is on display at CES Unveiled, a media preview event for CES International, Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, in Las Vegas. The robot is controlled by an app for a mobile device. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Robots that will do your weekly shop:
A new
delivery drone company plans to revolutionise the way we do our shopping by replacing your weekly trip to Sainsbury's with a tiny delivery robot which will bring your fruit and veg straight to your door.(Starship Technologies)