"The team of researchers, led by Ozgur Sahin, started with an idea about how to utilize biological organisms to create a water-responsive structure. Indeed, rather than building a robot to respond to a series of if/then statements, nature already has plants programmed to do so.

The miniature car is able to propel itself along by using a bunch of soil bacteria spores attached to strips of plastic tape. The spores naturally expand and straighten when water is absorbed from the air and shrink when releasing that moisture when coming in contact with dry air."