What if there was a way to retain the benefits of stiffer materials while also tapping into the field's softer side? Scientists have developed a multipurpose fiber that changes its stiffness depending on temperature, making for a highly versatile wire that could one day be used in everything from folding drones to shapeshifting furniture.

The team at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne's Laboratory of Intelligent Systems has been behind some impressive robotics advances over the years. Unmanned aircraft that use wings to walk on land, a grasshopper-like robot that can leap 27 times its body size and an award-winning crash-proof robot that flies inside a spherical cage are just a few examples.

Its latest creation is a composite thread that is rigid in its natural state. At its core is a silicone tube that holds low melting point alloys inside, which remain solid at room temperature and give the fiber a stiff nature, much like a thin metal wire.