When we were kids, I think it’s safe to say we would have loved for our stuffed animals to come to life. Looking back on it after watching “Toy Story” over and over, it would be pretty creepy to see your childhood belongings walking on their own. Well, a development team at Yale University decided they want to turn our dreams into nightmares by making this a reality.
New robotics technology at the university acts like an outer skin for stuffed animals. You can slide this technology onto your favorite toy dog or bear, and the “flat robot” acts as additional muscle sensors that can expand, contract, and create movement in inanimate objects.
If that wasn’t weird enough for you, then it gets even crazier. This gear was developed to help create robots that perform small functioning tasks, but it eventually is going to be used to aid astronauts in space. Transporting supplies to the International Space Station is an expensive task, but automated robotic skin could help reduce that cost. Additionally, these “flat robots” could also be programmed into a wearable human exoskeleton that would help correct posture.
But for now, just imagine the stuffed animal you sleep with every night coming to life and walking away from you while you’re cuddling it…
