MIT's tiny 3D-printed robot requires no assembly

Computer scientists at MIT have created a 3D-printed robot that requires such little human intervention it practically walks out of the printer on its own. Researchers from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have pioneered a system that allows printing solid and liquid materials simultaneously. This means their tiny proof-of-concept creation can have a built-in hydraulic system consisting of 12 ready-assembled pumps. All the human needs to do is attach a motor and a battery. "Our approach, which we call'printable hydraulics', is a step towards the rapid fabrication of functional machines," said CSAIL director Daniela Rus.