Cute yet creepy? Somersaulting MIT cube robots can self-assemble

These brightly colored blocks may look like child’s toys, but watch out: These adorable cubes are actually spinning robots that can connect to build modular machines. “It’s simple on the outside, but the insides are very unique,” MIT robotics professor Daniela Rus said in an interview. It’s almost like a cuddlier, more basic version of the T-1000 — the shape-shifting, liquid-metal nemesis in “Terminator 2.” “I just had the idea for a really long time,” said MIT roboticist John Romanishin, who proposed the idea while a senior at the university. “The idea has been in a lot of people’s minds from movies like ‘Terminator’ and other popular culture references.” The blocks move thanks to a flywheel inside their bodies that can spin at a blistering 20,000 revolutions per minute and then can brake straight down to zero in a blinding 10 milliseconds, said MIT roboticist Kyle Gilpin. “It’s a very interesting and capable robot, and the more it can do by itself, the less human involvement is needed,” Rus said.