Not too long ago, the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at Cornell University created a viral movie clip which was circulating over the internet. It showed self-replicating robotic cubes that moved autonomously, with an eerie aura of logic and independence. Now from the same department, Max Dean, Raffaello D'Andrea and Matt Donovan have developed a robotic chair that can break apart and then wondrously re-build itself. You really have to see the clip to get the full impression of what the technology suggests. It simultaneously leaves you with a sense of awe and a little creeped out.