3D printing technology is beginning to offer ways for new robots to be built with fewer materials and very little assembly, making them quicker to make and more affordable. A team of researchers from MIT, for example, have built a miniature robot which is hydraulically powered and was almost completely 3D printed in one piece. 3D printing has also been used by Disney Research in Zurich, to make prototype wheels for one of its robots. Disney Research’s Paul Beardsley said: “We’re on the cusp of something not just with 3D printing, but with robots in general. This is really the beginning of mobile robots appearing in the world.”
