Shape-shifting robots may help clean hawker centers

SINGAPORE - Local scientists are developing shape-shifting robots that can sweep and vacuum your favorite hawker center on their own, in a multimillion-dollar project.

Each robot will be made up of at least four square blocks that can disassemble and reassemble themselves into different shapes to clean different areas.

The prototype is a robot with four blocks. A robot with four blocks can be configured into seven shapes, while one with six can be assembled into 35, said its creators from the Singapore University of Technology and Design .