When we imagine futuristic robot helpers, we usually think of bots that are basically humanoid.
But other robot forms can be just as useful. Snake-shaped robots, for example, are handy because they're thin and flexible and can transform into different configurations.
Most scientists investigating these sorts of bots
suggest that they could be useful for search-and-rescue missions,
but MIT's Tangible Media Group thinks this might also be a good shape for computer interfaces. Their prototype creation, the LineFORM, imagines a shape-shifting interactive robot that can transform into everything from a mobile phone to a data cable to a flexible lamp.