A group of what I can only assume to be awesomely geeky engineers has created a video illustrating the first steps of a robot based on Jamming Skin Enabled Locomotion (JSEL) — or in other words, a soft mechanical skin.

The video presents a soft-skinned robot blob that can roll around and change shape, which is both creepy and amazing to watch. The presenters state that it will be able to squeeze through tiny cracks in a wall when the project is finished.

Other than being ridiculously cool, I can’t help but think that this stuff could be used in the future to create the versions of Cylons from Battlestar Galactica that look like humans (a.k.a. “Skinjobs” for all you Cylon Racists).

Check out the video here below for a demonstration and much better explanation.

Video

[VIDEO – iRobot’s Soft Morphing Blob ‘Bot Takes Its First Steps]

[VIDEO – A Cylon ‘Birth’]