Finally, Robots That Turn Into Furniture

Get ready for self-constructing, shape shifting, moving-on-command furniture — or as its creator like to call it, Roombots.

There are a lot of things we imagine our future robot overlords doing. But making, or rather being our furniture is probably not one of them. The kind of robot furnishings researchers at Switzerland-based technical university Ecole Polytechnique Federerale de Lausanne (EPFL) are working on is the stuff of dreams (and maybe a few nightmares).

Roombots are actually robotic modules, roughly 6x6x6 inches and weighing about 3 pounds, that include a few motors for three degrees of movements. They can roll slowly on the ground or use their built-in grip modules to attach themselves to each other or objects like specially-designed table-tops Read more...