Gardea envisions self-repairing drones and other uncrewed aircraft, but the ultimate goal is machines with the “reconfiguration characteristics of the T-1000 character in the Hollywood film, ‘Terminator 2,’” he said in a release.
Thus far, Gardea’s team has developed a 3D-printed, flexible polymer that can be programmed to remember and snap back to a certain shape.
The material, if not the machines made out of it, can be repeatedly melted down and reused, according to Military.com.
