VIDEO: This tiny robot can build itself, do its job, and recycle itself

Well, there's no way this is the plot to an apocalyptic thriller.

Researchers at MIT have built a robot that not only builds itself, but walks, swims, and carries objects - all from a 2cm square piece of plastic.

The tiny automaton is only made up of two parts - a sheet of foldable plastic and a magnet. All it needs is a little heat, and voila - a tiny, insect-like worker.

The video from the team responsible shows the robot walking, swimming, climbing, crossing skin, and carrying up to twice its weight.

The idea of foldable, small robots has been around for a long time - in fact, a very similar idea forms the basis of the main enemy in animated superhero film Big Hero 6.

If the notion of the scurrying, self-building robot is an uncomfortable one - it does, after all, have a vague insect-like quality - the basis for the idea and where the team want to take it might be an eye-opener.

"The team hopes that, eventually, "tiny sheets of material would be injected into the human body, navigate to an [injury or illness], fold themselves up, and, when they had finished their assigned tasks, dissolve."

That, however, is still a long way away, as the current design is more a proof of concept than one suited to real-world application.