SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 28 ­— Primer — the robot transformer — learning from nature.

Like a hermit crab changes its shell, so can Primer.

Here it’s putting on an origami-inspired exoskeleton — a plastic sheet folds itself around the base unit when heated up, turning the robot into a walk-bot…which in turn can put on another exoskeleton — to make itself bigger — big enough to carry things...until it wants to take an exoskeleton off — which it does by simply dissolving it in water.

Researchers at MIT imagine a space mission with just one robot but a stack of exoskeletons.

The next step will be to develop even more abilities — driving through water or burrowing in sand to camouflage their colour. — Reuters