MASSACHUSETTS, - Engineering robot Transformer was funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The research results were presented at the event Intelligent Robots and Systems Conference which lasts 7 - October 12, 2012 and in the Algarve, Portugal.
Transformer which was originally only in the movies will soon become apparent. Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a robot that is said to be the early stages Transformer.
MIT researchers are developing a robot called "Milli Motein". The name was given because robot has a size of only a few millimeters and is inspired by the folds of the protein molecule. The robot uses a technique called "watchmaking" to reorganize itself, transformed into another form.
"This is a one-dimensional robot that can be changed continuously without conventional moving parts, and then convert it into any shape," Neil Gershenfeld, head of the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT, told Wired, Wednesday (05/12/2012) .
To power the robot, the researchers also created a new system called the motor elektropermanen. The system is a pair between strong and weak magnet. Direction of the magnetic field is weaker magnetic property can be changed electronically. That is, the stronger magnetic work can be weakened or strengthened as needed.
"The results of this engineering brings us closer to the idea of programmable matter, which computer programs and materials combine to form a new material that form and function can be programmed, is like in biology," said Hod Lipson, Cornell University engineers involved in engineering robot.
"Many people today are fascinated to learn about 3D printing and producing a variety of forms, Gershenfeld team already thinking about the next episode, where we not only control the shape of the object, but also their behavior," said Lipson.
