MIT Wants You To Print Your Own Paper Robots

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

MIT Wants You To Print Your Own Paper Robots

Posted by samzenpus on Wednesday April 4, 2012 @11:27AM from the printer-helper dept.

MrSeb writes "According to researchers at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania, one day in the not too distant future you'll be able to design, print and build your own robot. 'Our vision is to develop an end-to-end process; specifically, a compiler for building physical machines that starts with a high level of specification of function, and delivers a programmable machine for that function using simple printing processes,' MIT Professor Daniela Rus says. The team points to the high expense currently to design and produce functioning robots. By simplifying the process, it would bring robotics to a much wider audience. With an automated process, more time could be spent on teaching the intricacies of robotics or getting to the task at hand rather than the laborious process of building the robot itself. Two paper prototypes have been built so far: an insect-like robot for exploring dangerous areas, and a gripper device for the handicapped."

21 of 34 comments (clear)

Min score:

Reason:

Sort:

Man by Osgeld · 2012-04-04 11:46 · Score: 3, Interesting

MIT has been announcing some rather "dreamy" ideas recently
paper robots
self sculpting sand
See though 3D computers
No more Disabilities in 50 years (so yea everyone with a disability now will magicly vanish in 50 years, right?)
just to name a few, has anyone there actually tried this stuff? Almost all of it starts with "our vision", starting to sound like a junk patent mill to me
1. Re:Man by Charliemopps · 2012-04-04 11:50 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  "No more Disabilities in 50 years (so yea everyone with a disability now will magicly vanish in 50 years, right?)" <-- The Germans almost pulled this off in the 1940's
2. Re:Man by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-04 11:53 · Score: 1
  
  It's what young kids in school do. Always has been.
  Some of the ideas will pan out, most will not.
3. Re:Man by Osgeld · 2012-04-04 12:42 · Score: 1
  
  These are not young kids, they are functional adults going to one of the best technical universities in the world
4. Re:Man by kaws · 2012-04-04 12:46 · Score: 1
  
  I had to laugh at this completely tasteless humor.
5. Re:Man by gnapster · 2012-04-04 13:35 · Score: 1
  
  My eyes! The word-wrap goggles do nothing!
6. Re:Man by JoeMerchant · 2012-04-04 14:39 · Score: 2
  
  Anyone under 25 is a young stupid kid, period. No matter what school or background they come from, they lack experience.
  Speak for yourself, by about 22 I was a rational adult - still drowning in hormones, but that applies to some men in their 60s, too.
  Just because you and all your friends were idiots until 26 doesn't make it true for the rest of the world. I see most of the world as being controlled by people 55 and up, with a few rare exceptions where rich old farts have turned their children loose with some power. I think the younger generation could actually do better in a lot of ways, especially when it comes to preparing for the distant future.
  35 minimum is a good rule for President, but from 50 up, they should start getting handicapped, like need to get their age in percentage of the popular vote to win against any opponent less than 50 years old.
7. Re:Man by Pence128 · 2012-04-04 15:50 · Score: 2
  
  No more Disabilities in 50 years
  If you limited it to physical disabilities and mostly in first world countries, I could see that. Even if you still consider someone with say, a permanently attached prosthetic arm which is equal to or greater than a human one by any conceivable metric still "disabled," 50 years is in the realm of just cloning a new one and grafting it on.
  
  --
  404: sig not found.
8. Re:Man by ca111a · 2012-04-05 01:49 · Score: 1
  
  "The Germans almost pulled this off in the 1940's" <-- You mean US and Germans, right?
9. Re:Man by Rei · 2012-04-05 05:09 · Score: 2
  
  It occurs to me that one might be able to create 3d printer mass-adoption *without* a special printer -- just special paper. Create a water-soluble printer paper (except the edges) that reacts to common ink solvents by becoming insoluble, and which has a thin layer of adhesive (potentially water activated, potentially heat activated, or other possibilities) on one side. Open your model as a many-page PDF, with each page being a sequential cross-section. Print. Clamp. Activate adhesive and soak. Viola, 3d part, no special printer (and with a pretty fine layer-resolution, too). The "paper" doesn't have to be cellulosic (and the solvent doesn't have to be water), so long as everything can follow the basic priciples laid out above and that the "paper" can be fed into the printer. The cost to print a part could be reduced if printer manufacturers offered special cheap "solvent-only" cartridges (if this became popular, I'm sure they would -- it'd be a whole new market for them, and any printer-maker to offer such cartridges would have a big marketing advantage for their printers).
  
  --
  FSB hits! FSB hits! Your democracy dies. Do you want your possessions identified?
Android by smc170 · 2012-04-04 12:11 · Score: 1

MIT also took over the Android app maker program. They're taking over!

--
I am Jacks complete lack of Windows
1. Re:Android by TENTH+SHOW+JAM · 2012-04-04 12:18 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  They're taking over!
  At least on paper...
  
  --
  A sig is placed here
  To display how futile
  English Haiku is
I want it. by csumpi · 2012-04-04 12:53 · Score: 1

Sounds awesome. I want it.
1. Re:I want it. by hey! · 2012-04-04 14:46 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Design, print and assemble the robot myself? Meh. Can't they get a machine to do that for me?
  
  --
  Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Infrastructure for Terraforming by nigelvthomas · 2012-04-04 14:00 · Score: 1

So all you'd need is a bunch of super industrial robot printers and a robot maintenance infrastructure to supply ingredients to run major mining on the moon or mars. Advanced concepts boiled down to bare core like software programming that's built on infrastructure like printable robots on an industrial scale is really a leap forward. Congrats to MIT for the concept; next step is contests so programmers can compete for best in show for best robot printers and best robot printing applications.
not what Iike was imagining by gsgriffin · 2012-04-04 15:15 · Score: 1

When I first read, in my mind, I wanted to see a laser printer that uses conductive toner to create entire circuits on the paper itself. The image they show doesn't looking like it is saving much. It is simply a program for origami. That's there dreams? Really?

--
jsut athnoer menagiensls ltitle psrhae for you to dcoede. Why do we wtsae our tmie dnoig tihs?
1. Re:not what Iike was imagining by tibit · 2012-04-05 01:06 · Score: 1
  
  They're there in their room. Sorry, couldn't help myself :)
  
  --
  A successful API design takes a mixture of software design and pedagogy.
Does the world really need... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-04 15:19 · Score: 1

another disposable commodity? Robots are cool but I value forests as well.
This is nothing... by Red+Pointy+Tail · 2012-04-04 21:53 · Score: 1

... compared to printable pets, available soon from GeneDupe!
Re:Oblig. Futurama quote: by Rik+Sweeney · 2012-04-04 21:56 · Score: 1

Fry (a human): Man, I wish we had a robot to do stuff!
Bender (a robot): I know, right?
FTFY.

--
Summation 2
Robot Uprisings Manageable with Scissors by Anonymous Coward · 2012-04-05 04:51 · Score: 1

At least when the robots rise up against humanity, we'll be easily able to put down the revolt with our own arsenal of scissors.
Unless the robots are able to use their own mastery over rocks as a weapon, because that would defeat our scissors.