When most people think of robots, myself included, they think of metal, wires, cogs, and maybe malleable synthetic skin with micro-heaters beneath the surface to make them feel “real”. But maybe the next wave of our little mechanical friends will be made from more transient materials. Like paper?
D+ropop is a cardboard-made mannequin robot, and looking at her, it’s hard to imagine being afraid of some kind of robot rebellion.
It does make me wonder what paper robots would be like outside the shop windows. For one thing, walking in the rain might be a little tricky if they’re not sealed with some kind of waterproofing spray. For second, they’d be pretty light–light enough to fly? We’ve already got winged toys that fly using simple motors. But what would be the practicality of paper robots? They’d be fragile, they’d be flammable, they’d be weak. Or would they?
They do make cute toys, though, even if they don’t have motors…
Maggie Slater 