MIT creates self-assembling underwater chair

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a chair that uses magnets to assemble itself from six pieces underwater.

The MIT Self-Assembly Lab team, led by Skylar Tibbits, released a video showing how the six pieces move around in the current of the water and assemble themselves using unique connection points that only allow the pieces to connect in the correct places.

The pieces end up in the shape of a chair, but consumers shouldn't get too excited to test out the underwater seat -- it measures only 6 inches by 6 inches.

The team said the "Fluid Assembly Furniture" needs moving water to help assemble itself using trial and error. The time-lapse video was actually shot over the course of seven hours, they said.

"Finding a way to make the pieces more interchangeable would increase the probability of the pieces finding their matches," researcher Baily Zuniga told Wired. "Thus resulting in a faster assembly."

The researchers said the technology could one day have applications in underwater infrastructure repair.