Self-Assembly

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have grown liquid crystal flowers, making it possible to create lenses as complex as the compound eye of a dragonfly. The technology could enable lenses to be grown on curved surfaces and building new materials, smart surfaces, microlens arrays, and more.

Using a 3D printer, people can already determine the length, width and depth of an object that they create. Now, however, a fourth dimension can now be included – time.

Imagine if an army of cubes could roll around and even jump on their own, joining with one another to form a variety of structures. Well, that's exactly what a team of robotics researchers are trying to turn into a reality – and they've already developed the cubes that could do it.

Paper cranes that fold themselves are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential of self-assembly technologies being developed by engineers at the Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory.