HACKING MATTER. “Imagine you had a bag of tiny, programmable robotic modules that could sense their neighbors and move as directed. After running the appropriate program, you could reach into the bag and pull out a wrench, a coffee cup, or whatever else you wanted. Then, when you were done, you could put the modules back in the bag and command them to re-form into the next thing you needed.””
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http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/magazine/physicstoday/article/66/6/10.1063/PT.3.2020