A young mini - automaton could be our best hope   to position an end to the problems induce by children ’s favorite pursuit : swallow random crap . This midget “ origami ” robot developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) is able-bodied to travel down into your breadbasket , unfold , and retrieve objects that   have become stuck there .

For representative , according to the researchers atMIT , over 3,500 of those release - sized batteries get swallowed every class . Usually , swallowing material like this is n’t too much of a trouble , since nature commonly take tutelage of the job within one to three days . But batteries can pose a real problem , as they can occasionally cauterise the stomach tissue paper and become embedded .

The robot is encapsulated in an ice contraceptive pill . As it cook its mode to the venter , the ice melts and the golem is able to increase its size by spread out –   hence the reference to origami . From   here , external magnetic champaign can be used to move and insure the robot . It ’s also able-bodied to move itself through a “ stick - flip motion ” –   which relies on friction and changes in system of weights statistical distribution to propel itself in different directions . Using these proficiency , it is able to grab or nudge out things such as   batteries that   have become lodged in the belly , all without the need for trespassing surgery .

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So what do you make a robot like this out of ? Shuguang Li , who sour on the project , enjoin their eureka moment follow when they were wandering through Asian markets and the local Chinatown food market looking for materials . In the end , they settle for a type of dried pig intestine , the kind that is used in sausage casings . Not only does this mean the golem is biocompatible , it also means a large chunk of it is biodegradable .

The project is still in its early days and has only been test on a simulated   human esophagus and tum so far . However , the researchers have eminent hopes for this folded small automaton . Not only do they remember it will be able-bodied to remove foreign objects , they believe it could be developed to patch up up wounds or administer practice of medicine . The team also want to develop the golem to become autonomous and able to hold out procedures without any extraneous controls .