A caveat to all of this is that the “motor” of the robot isn’t really integrated into the whole self-folding and dissolving thing. The motor comes in two parts: a cubic neodymium permanent magnet that the robot folds itself around, and then a set of four electromagnetic coils underneath the surface that the robot operates on to provide the magnetic fields that drive it [right].

Awww man! I was really hoping this thing was self propelled/powered, I wanted to be able to unleash an army of these guys :( Still, this is super cool. I'm not entirely sure what the potential of it is, but I hope it's something useful!