MIT Enlists 6,500 Silkworms and One Robot to Print a Silk Pavilion
6th June 2013
Robot fish can lead real aquatic life to safety, and apparently robotic weavers can guide silkworms, too. One year after the MIT Media Lab’s artificial spider wove an artificial web, the group has used another such robot to create a biological printer and print a giant cocoon. After using a CNC machine to lay down the foundations, a swarm of 6,500 live silkworms finished the job, depositing their natural silk to create a partially natural, partially artificial structure.