(CNN) — Engineers at two California universities say they have created a worm-like robot that can grow 25,000 times its size.
Researchers at Stanford University and the University of California say it could be used for helping with search and rescue efforts and medical devices.
The robot is a tube of soft material folded inside itself, akin to an inside-out sock, according to the journal Science Robotics.
It grows when material inside the tube turns outward.
A number of prototypes have been built, and researchers said more work needs to be done with the robot.
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