Humanity's First Transformer Is A...Start, I Guess  What you're
looking at here is the first ever machine to be able to "self-
assemble". In other words, go from one state to another that can
be used for...something. Without a human having to ever touch a
button or issue a direct command.  The result of a joint project
between MIT and Harvard, the "origami robot" may look humble,
almost toy-like, but is actually built from some pretty sci-fi
tech.  The robot starts as a flat sheet with embedded
electronics, and transforms autonomously into a functional
machine. To accomplish this, we developed shape-memory
composites that fold themselves along embedded hinges. We used
these composites to recreate fundamental folded patterns,
derived from computational origami, that can be extrapolated to
a wide range of geometries and mechanisms. This origami-inspired
robot can fold itself in 4 minutes and walk away without human
intervention, demonstrating the potential both for complex self-
folding machines and autonomous, s