World News for Students of English

26-08-2014 07:00

Scientists in the US have created a robot that can build itself.

In just four minutes, the “origami robot” can fold itself up and crawl away like a crab.

Researchers at Harvard University designed the self-assembling, walking robot from batteries, a motor and materials that fold and bend when heated.

When heat is applied, the robot can build itself in under five minutes and walk away at 5cm per second.

This groundbreaking technology means this is the first complex, strong robot that can self-assemble without human intervention.

“Now that we’ve demonstrated self-building can be used to build functional machines, we think this could be applied to a variety of different problems.”

“Deployment in harsher, exotic environments like space or battlefields, you know, deployable structures that we can put in difficult to reach places.”

The sophisticated machines, which are pretty much real-life transformers, operates on a timer, waiting about ten seconds after the batteries are installed to begin folding.

And not only that, but they are pretty cheap to make, too. The robots are made with easy-to-find materials that cost less than $100.

Difficult words: fold (to bend something), assemble (put something together), groundbreaking (revolutionary), intervention (help), deployment (act of putting something somewhere), harsh (difficult to survive in), sophisticated (very good and complicated).

Source: www.itn.co.uk