Sci Fi Science: Physics of the Impossible (2009–…): Season 2, Episode 12 - Shapeshifting Transformer - full transcript

I'M GOING HEAD-TO-HEAD
WITH AN EVIL, INVADING FORCE.

Dr. Kaku: MY JOURNEY IS GONNA
TAKE ME TO SOME SURPRISING PLACES.

SOMETHING THIS BIG GOING
THROUGH SOMETHING THAT SMALL?

THAT'S AMAZING.

WHOA, WHOA! OH, MY GOD. LOOK AT THAT.

I'M GONNA GET AN AMAZING
GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE...

LOOK AT THAT THING CLIMB. HI THERE.

...AND I'LL BE LOOKING TO
SCI-FI FANS FOR INSPIRATION.

IT COULD HAVE DIED! IT'S GONNA BE HORRIBLE.

I'M GONNA DESIGN A REAL TRANSFORMER...

A SHAPESHIFTING ROBOT TO SAVE
OUR PLANET FROM DESTRUCTION.



I'M DR. MICHIO KAKU.

I'M A THEORETICAL PHYSICIST

AND A SCIENCE-FICTION [Echoing] FAN.

JOIN ME AS I SHOW YOU HOW
TO MAKE SCI-FI [Echoing] SCIENCE.

IN THE "TRANSFORMERS" MOVIE,

EVIL, SHAPESHIFTING
ROBOTS CALLED DECEPTICONS

THREATEN THE HUMAN RACE.

NOW, IMAGINE IF THAT WERE REAL.

WE CERTAINLY CAN'T DEPEND UPON
THE GOOD GUYS LIKE OPTIMUS PRIME

TO BAIL US OUT.

IT'S UP TO US.

I'M GONNA DESIGN MY VERY OWN TRANSFORMER

WITH ALL THE STEALTH AND POWER
NEEDED TO BEAT THE DECEPTICONS.

BUT FIRST, I NEED TO KNOW
EXACTLY WHAT I'M UP AGAINST,



AND I KNOW JUST THE PEOPLE TO ASK.

SO, WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU
KNOCK DOWN A TRANSFORMER?

IT WOULD SIMPLY GET UP,
CHANGE FORM, AND GO AFTER YOU.

TRANSFORMERS GET RIGHT
BACK UP AND KEEP ON FIGHTING.

DOOOOOM!

[ LAUGHS ]

TO DEFEAT ENEMY TRANSFORMERS
HELL-BENT ON OUR DESTRUCTION,

MY ROBOTS MUST HAVE THREE THINGS...

FIRST, THE ULTIMATE TRANSFORMING POWER.

THEY MOST GO ONE STEP
BEYOND THE DECEPTICONS,

ABLE TO TURN INTO ANY OBJECT THEY DESIRE.

TWO IS STRENGTH.

THEY MUST BE ABLE TO SLUG IT
OUT TOE-TO-TOE WITH ENEMY ROBOTS

AND WIN.

AND THIRD... STEALTH.

THEY MUST BE ABLE TO SNEAK
BEHIND ENEMY LINES UNDETECTED.

ACCORDING TO HOLLYWOOD,

EVIL ROBOTS ARE ALL AROUND
US, HIDDEN AS CARS AND TRUCKS.

BUT WHAT THE MOVIES DON'T TELL US

IS WHAT MECHANICAL POWER
ALLOWS A CAMARO TO STAND UP

AND MOVE AROUND LIKE A HUMAN.

MY FIRST TASK IS TO FIGURE
OUT WHAT SORT OF TECHNOLOGY

CAN TURN A 3,000-POUND CAR INTO
A RUNNING, JUMPING TRANSFORMER.

LUCKILY, I DON'T HAVE TO
GO TOO FAR FOR INSPIRATION.

THESE INCREDIBLE CARS ARE CALLED LOWRIDERS.

THEY HAVE CUSTOMIZED SUSPENSIONS

THAT ALLOW THEM TO HOP UP AND DOWN

AND EVEN RIDE ON THREE WHEELS.

AMAZING.

I'M HOPING THE SAME TECHNOLOGY

COULD BE USED TO POWER THE
ARMS AND LEGS OF MY TRANSFORMER.

LOOK AT THAT.

MARTIN, CAN YOU PUT IT BACK
DOWN? YEAH, NO PROBLEM.

LET'S TRY TO FIND OUT HOW
THIS THING WORKS. COOL.

WHAT'S THE MAGIC THAT MAKES
A JUMPING CAR COME TO LIFE?

HYDRAULICS.

SO, IT'S PRESSURIZED OIL.

YEP. WHY HYDRAULICS?

WHY NOT AN ELECTRIC MOTOR?

AN ELECTRIC MOTOR PROBABLY
WOULDN'T BE STRONG ENOUGH.

IT WOULD GET DESTROYED. THE
GEARS WOULD GET DESTROYED.

AIR SUSPENSION WORKS.

IT'LL MAKE THE CAR GO UP AND
DOWN, BUT IT'S NOT AS POWERFUL.

SO POUND FOR POUND, IT'S
ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOU CAN GET.

YES.

POWERFUL ENOUGH THAT IF
YOU HIT THE SWITCH WRONG,

YOU CAN BREAK THE CAR.

Dr. Kaku: [ Laughing ] WHOA! LOOK AT THAT.

WHOA, WHOA. OH, MY GOD. LOOK AT THAT.

WHAT'S THE NEXT ONE DO?

EASY, EASY, EASY. BRING
IT DOWN. BRING IT DOWN.

AND WHAT ABOUT GETTING ON THREE WHEELS?

I'LL SHOW YOU RIGHT NOW.

GOING ON THREE WHEELS
CAN EXPLODE THE HYDRAULICS

IF YOU GET IT WRONG.

AND MARTIN WASN'T GOING TO RISK HIS BABY

WITH A BEGINNER LIKE ME.

FIRST, LIFT THE FRONT UP...

...AND LIFT THE LEFT REAR.

WHOA!

THERE WE GO!

SO, THAT'S IT.

Dr. Kaku: AMAZING. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

WELL, I THINK HYDRAULICS IS THE WAY TO GO.

IT'S POWERFUL, IT'S EFFICIENT,
AND IT'S RELATIVELY COMPACT.

BUT, YOU KNOW, HERE I THINK
THE CYLINDERS ARE SIMPLY

TOO WEAK, TOO SMALL, TO
ENERGIZE A POWERFUL TRANSFORMER.

FOR THAT, I NEED SOMETHING ELSE.

[ METAL CLATTERING ]

HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS ARE POWER-MULTIPLIERS.

THE GREATER THE DIAMETER,
THE GREATER THE POWER,

SO WHAT I NEED ARE REALLY BIG CYLINDERS.

IN THE MOVIES, TRANSFORMERS
CAN RUN AND JUMP,

SMASH THROUGH BUILDINGS,

AND HURL TANKS HUNDREDS
OF YARDS INTO THE AIR.

WELL, THAT REQUIRES A WHOLE
NEW LEVEL OF HYDRAULIC POWER.

AND HERE IN LONG ISLAND,

THIS YARD MAY HAVE JUST WHAT I NEED.

THESE CAR-SMASHING MONSTER CRANES

ARE THE ULTIMATE IN CONTROLLED VIOLENCE.

LIKE THE LOWRIDERS, THEY
RUN ON COMPRESSED OIL.

BUT HERE, THE OVERSIZED CYLINDERS

PRODUCE 10 TIMES THE POWER,

ALLOWING THEM TO LIFT THEIR
OWN BODY WEIGHT WITH EASE.

THEY'RE IDEAL FOR GETTING
MY TRANSFORMER UP AND AT 'EM.

FROM A DISTANCE, THIS
GIGANTIC HYDRAULIC CRANE

DOES RESEMBLE THE ARM OF A TRANSFORMER.

THAT BASE HERE CAN ROTATE
JUST LIKE MY SHOULDER...

...THAT JOINT OVER THERE
CAN BEND JUST LIKE MY ELBOW...

...AND THE GRABBERS OVER THERE

CAN DUPLICATE THE MOTIONS
OF MY WRISTS AND MY FINGERS.

THIS HAS ALL THE POWER
OF A TRANSFORMER ARM.

NOW PUT FOUR OF THEM TOGETHER,

TWO OF THEM CREATING THE
ARMS OF THE TRANSFORMER,

TWO MORE, REINFORCED, CREATING THE LEGS,

AND I NOW HAVE A ROBOT AS
POWERFUL AS ANY TRANSFORMER.

THE WIDER THE CYLINDERS,
THE STRONGER MY ROBOT WILL BE.

UPGRADING THE OIL
COMPRESSORS WILL MAKE IT FASTER,

BUT I'LL NEED A BIGGER COOLING SYSTEM

TO STOP ALL THIS FROM OVERHEATING.

IT WOULD BE AN AWESOME BATTLE-BOT.

BUT REMEMBER, I ALSO
NEED TO MAKE IT TRANSFORM.

THE SHEER BULK OF MY
DESIGN MAKES THAT A PROBLEM.

IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT
FOUR MECHANICAL ARMS AND LEGS,

WITH PRESSURIZED OIL, VALVES,
PIPES, PUMPS, AND RADIATORS

COULD ALL FIT INTO
SOMETHING THE SIZE OF A TRUCK.

IF I'M GONNA BUILD A TRANSFORMER,

I HAVE TO GO BEYOND ORDINARY MECHANICS.

COMING UP, I GET INSPIRATION

FROM NATURE'S GREATEST DECEPTICON.

Biggs: THEY ARE THE MASTERS OF CAMOUFLAGE

IN THE ANIMAL WORLD, FOR SURE.

AND I COME FACE TO FACE

WITH A TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL BLOW YOU AWAY.

I'VE COME UP WITH AN OBSTACLE
AS BIG AS OPTIMUS PRIME HIMSELF.

IF I USE CONVENTIONAL MECHANICS,

THEN HYDRAULIC HARDWARE
NECESSARY TO MAKE MY ROBOTS MOVE

WOULD BE SIMPLY TOO BIG, TOO BULKY,

TO TRANSFORM INTO ANYTHING ELSE.

IF I'M GONNA MAKE THIS IDEA WORK,

I'M GONNA HAVE TO GO
BEYOND OIL AND CYLINDERS.

I WANT FRESH IDEAS,

AND THAT'S WHY I'VE COME HERE TO THE ZOO...

TO MEET A REAL-LIFE DECEPTICON.

YOU KNOW, HOLLYWOOD HAS US BRAINWASHED

THAT ALL TRANSFORMERS
HAVE TO BE MADE OUT OF METAL.

BUT MOTHER NATURE, OVER MILLIONS OF YEARS,

HAS EVOLVED THE GREATEST
TRANSFORMER OF ALL.

THINK OF IT.

I CAN LEARN AN AWFUL
LOT FROM "OCTOPUS" PRIME.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST SPECIES OF OCTOPUS

LIVES RIGHT HERE AT THE PITTSBURGH ZOO.

I'VE GOT A BACKSTAGE PASS

TO MEET THE AQUATIC-LIFE
CURATOR, DWAYNE BIGGS.

Biggs: THIS IS OUR GIANT PACIFIC OCTOPUS.

IT'S COMING UP. YES. HERE SHE COMES.

THERE SHE COMES.

THERE'S ONE OF HER ARMS,
ONE OF HER EIGHT ARMS.

OH, YES. HER SUCTION CUPS THERE.

SO, WHY IS THIS NATURE'S
GREATEST TRANSFORMER?

THERE'S NO BONES,

SO IT'S PRIMARILY WATER AND MUSCLE TISSUE.

SO AN OCTOPUS' SIZE, AT
AROUND 40 OR 50 POUNDS,

CAN SQUEEZE THROUGH A HOLE
ABOUT THE SIZE OF A QUARTER.

A QUARTER? A QUARTER.

NOW, THAT'S REMARKABLE, RIGHT?

THAT BIG GOING THROUGH
SOMETHING THAT SMALL?

THAT'S AMAZING.

I WOULDN'T MIND THAT POWER. [ LAUGHS ]

I CAN'T IMAGINE OPTIMUS
PRIME BEING ABLE TO DO THIS,

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL.

OCTOPUSES CAN ALSO CHANGE THEIR
BODY SHAPE TO CONFUSE ENEMIES.

HERE'S ONE PRETENDING TO BE A FLOUNDER,

AND MASTERY OVER BOTH THE
COLOR AND TEXTURE OF THE SKIN

ALLOWS THEM TO BLEND WITH
ANY BACKGROUND IN SECONDS.

AND THESE THINGS ARE
INCREDIBLY STRONG, TOO, RIGHT?

VERY STRONG.

SHE'S GOT CONTROL OVER
ALL OF THOSE SUCTION CUPS

AND EVERY PART OF THAT ARM THERE.

LOOK, AND SHE'S PULLING MY ARM DOWN.

LOOK AT THIS. YEAH. I CAN SEE THAT.

YOU KNOW, THEY CAN CONNECT UP
ON THE SIDES OF A LARGE LOBSTER

WITH ALL THOSE SUCTION CUPS

AND USE THAT MUSCLE AND
JUST RIP THAT LOBSTER IN HALF.

A TRANSFORMER THAT COULD SQUEEZE

THROUGH THE SMALLEST OF
GAPS WOULD BE FANTASTIC.

BUT IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE TO DESIGN A ROBOT

WITHOUT ANY SOLID PARTS AT ALL?

THE U.S. MILITARY HAS BEATEN ME TO IT.

THESE BASEBALL-SIZE
BLOBS ARE CALLED CHEMBOTS.

THEY'RE THE WORLD'S
FIRST SOFT-BODIED ROBOTS.

EACH SECTION OF THEIR SKIN
CAN BE MADE HARD OR SOFT

USING AN ELECTRICAL CHARGE.

WHEN A BALLOON HIDDEN
INSIDE THE ROBOT IS INFLATED,

THE SOFT SECTIONS BULGE,
ALLOWING IT TO ROLL AROUND.

BY DESIGNING MY TRANSFORMER LIKE A CHEMBOT,

IT WILL BE ABLE TO SQUEEZE
THROUGH THE SMALLEST OF GAPS,

JUST LIKE AN OCTOPUS.

I'LL ALSO ADD A COATING
OF ORGANIC L.E.D. SCREENS.

THEY'RE FLEXIBLE, TOUGH,

AND PERFECT FOR INSTANT COLOR CHANGE.

MY DESIGN WILL MAKE AN
AWESOME SHAPESHIFTER,

BUT I'M A BIT WORRIED

THAT THE SCI-FI FANS
WILL THINK IT'S TOO FRAGILE

TO PROTECT US FROM A FULL-SCALE INVASION.

YOU'RE NOT JUST TALKING
ABOUT ONE TRANSFORMER, HERE.

IT'S THE WHOLE BUNCH OF BAD GUYS
THAT ARE COMING AT YOU, AS WELL,

THAT ARE TOUGHER THAN ANYTHING

YOU'VE EVER DEALT WITH
OR COULD CONCEIVE OF.

WE'RE DEAD. [ LAUGHS ]
IT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS.

CHEMBOTS ARE STEALTHY,
BUT HEY, LET'S FACE IT...

ON THE BATTLEFIELD, FACE
TO FACE WITH MEGATRON,

THEY WOULD BE A DISASTER.

SO I'VE GOT TO GO BACK
TO THE DRAWING BOARD.

BUT THIS TIME,

I HAVE A REVOLUTIONARY,
NEW IDEA IN MY SIGHTS.

THIS THING CAN DO ANYTHING
A SNAKE CAN DO AND MORE.

I'VE GOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM.

MAKING A TRANSFORMER WITH HYDRAULICS

WOULD VERY DIFFICULT
BECAUSE IT'S TOO BULKY.

NOW, A CHEMBOT WOULD TRANSFORM BRILLIANTLY,

BUT IT'S SIMPLY NOT TOUGH
ENOUGH TO SURVIVE A BATTLE.

WHAT I NEED IS A BATTLE-BOT

THAT'S SUPER-STRONG AND STEALTHY.

I HAVE TO GET DOWN TO
SOME SERIOUS RESEARCH,

AND WHEN IT COMES TO SCIENCE FICTION,

THIS PLACE IS THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

IT DOESN'T TAKE ME LONG
TO FIND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR.

IN THE SECOND "TRANSFORMERS" MOVIE,

THE DECEPTICONS HAVE TO
BREAK INTO A LOCKED ROOM.

THEY TAKE A JAR OF BALL BEARINGS

AND POUR THEM DOWN A VENTILATION SHAFT.

NOW, THESE BALL BEARINGS
ARE ACTUALLY MINI-ROBOTS.

THEY REFORM, MERGE, TO
CREATE A FULL-SCALE TRANSFORMER

INSIDE THAT LOCKED ROOM.

THE TECHNICAL TERM FOR
THIS OUTLANDISH CONCEPT

IS "MODULARITY."

AND AMAZINGLY, SOME RESEARCHERS

HAVE TAKEN THE FIRST
STEPS TO MAKING IT REAL.

ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING ROBOTIC CENTERS

IS LOCATED RIGHT HERE,

AT THE CARNEGIE MELLON
UNIVERSITY IN PITTSBURGH.

I'VE COME HERE TO SEE THE MODULAR ROBOTS,

WHICH ARE ROUGH, TOUGH,

AND UNLIKE ANY ROBOT YOU'VE
EVER SEEN IN THE MOVIES.

THIS IS THE WORLD'S FIRST
SEARCH-AND-RESCUE ROBOT SNAKE.

IT CAN CLIMB OVER ANY TERRAIN...

SCALE PIPES...

...TRAVERSE BARS...

...AND EVEN BOLDLY GO WHERE
NO ROBOT HAS GONE BEFORE,

AND ALL WITH THIS ONE EYE ON THE WORLD.

LOOK AT THAT THING CLIMB.

I'VE NEVER HAD A ROBOT
CLIMB UP MY LEG BEFORE.

HI, THERE. HOW YOU DOING?

IT'S THE BRAINCHILD OF
PROFESSOR HOWIE CHOSET.

THE GOAL IS TO MAKE A ROBOT

HAVE NO MOBILITY LIMITATIONS WHATSOEVER,

SO WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT THIS DEVICE

IS IT CAN CRAWL ON THE
GROUND, SWIM IN A LAKE,

PASS THROUGH A FENCE, CLIMB POLES.

ULTIMATELY, WE WANT TO GO

THROUGH COMPLETELY UNSTRUCTURED
SPACES, LIKE RUBBLE PILES,

WHERE WE CAN GO LOOK FOR TRAPPED VICTIMS.

ALTHOUGH IT MOVES LIKE A SNAKE,

HOWIE'S ROBOT ACTUALLY HAS MORE IN COMMON

WITH A VERY DIFFERENT ANIMAL... THE ANT.

EACH MODULE HAS ITS OWN COMPUTER BRAIN,

IT HAS ITS OWN SENSORS,
AND IT HAS ITS OWN MOTORS.

SO IN A SENSE, YOU CAN THINK OF THIS

AS A SERIES OF 16 MODULAR ROBOTS

THAT HAVE COME TOGETHER TO FORM THIS SNAKE.

IN EFFECT, IT'S A COLONY OF ROBOTS

WORKING TOWARDS A COMMON GOAL.

AND JUST LIKE ANTS,

THE WORKERS IN THIS COLONY
ARE COMPLETELY EXPENDABLE.

WHAT'S NICE IS, IF ONE OF
THESE MODULES SHOULD BREAK,

WE CAN ACTUALLY REMOVE THE MODULE,

AND IT WILL KEEP ON GOING.

IN A SENSE, THIS ROBOT'S UNBREAKABLE.

NOW, IN THE FUTURE, THESE
COMPONENTS COULD REFORM.

THAT IS, THEY COULD DISENGAGE EACH OTHER

AND THEN REFORM IN A
DIFFERENT PATTERN, RIGHT?

LET'S SAY YOU WANT TO PASS
THROUGH LOTS OF LITTLE OPENINGS.

THE ROBOT WILL COME
APART INTO LITTLE MODULES,

CRAWL THROUGH THOSE LITTLE OPENINGS,

RECONNECT, AND THEN MAYBE
GO OVER A LARGE OBSTACLE.

IN THE FUTURE, HOWIE'S
COLONY WILL HAVE THE POWER

TO BREAK APART AND CHANGE FORM BY ITSELF.

AND THE SMALLER THE
INDIVIDUAL ROBOTS BECOME,

THE GREATER THE RANGE OF
POSSIBLE SHAPES THEY CAN TAKE.

WE ARE HEADED TOWARD AN
AMAZING, RADICAL, NEW TECHNOLOGY

CALLED PROGRAMMABLE MATTER.

IMAGINE MILLIONS OF
THESE TINY, LITTLE MODULES

REDUCED TO MICROSCOPIC SIZE,
EACH ONE CONTAINING A MICROCHIP.

THEY COULD SPLIT APART AND THEN REARRANGE

TO CREATE ANY SHAPE WHATSOEVER.

IF SOME OF THE MODULES
GET DAMAGED, NO PROBLEM.

THE REMAINING MODULES SIMPLY REFORM

TO CREATE AN ENTIRELY NEW OBJECT.

IN STEALTH MODE,

MY TRANSFORMER WILL HAVE
UNLIMITED SHAPESHIFTING POWERS.

USING COLOR CHANGE L.E.D.s,

IT CAN BLEND INTO ANY ENVIRONMENT,

FROM A BATTLEFIELD TO AN OFFICE.

FINALLY, IN ATTACK MODE,
I'LL BE ABLE TO SWITCH

BETWEEN ONE GIANT ROBOT
AND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS,

DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION.

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

SHRUNK TO MICRO SIZE,

THE MECHANISMS THAT
HOLD THE MODULES TOGETHER

WOULD BE TOO WEAK.

I NEED TO FIND A NEW WAY TO BOND MY COLONY,

AND IT'S NOT GONNA BE EASY.

SOME SCIENTISTS BELIEVE

THAT THE SOLUTION COULD
BE THE ELECTROSTATIC FORCE.

THAT'S THE SAME FORCE

THAT MAKES A BALLOON CLING
TO A WALL WHEN YOU RUB IT.

NOW, THE ELECTROSTATIC FORCE IS TINY

COMPARED TO THE ATOMIC FORCES

THAT HOLD ATOMS AND MOLECULES TOGETHER.

SO IF MEGATRON TOOK A SWIPE

AT A MODULAR ROBOT HELD
TOGETHER BY ELECTROSTATIC FORCES,

IT WOULD SHATTER INTO A THOUSAND PIECES.

TO FIND OUT MORE, GO TO...

I'M DESIGNING A TRANSFORMING ROBOT

THAT CAN GO HEAD TO HEAD

WITH THE MIGHTIEST
TRANSFORMER OF ALL... MEGATRON.

ALL MY RESEARCH LEADS TO A
FANTASTIC, NEW TECHNOLOGY

CALLED PROGRAMMABLE MATTER.

IT'S BASED ON TINY, MODULAR ROBOTS

THAT CAN SPLIT APART AND
THEN REARRANGE THEMSELVES

INTO ANY SHAPE WHATSOEVER.

BUT THERE'S A PROBLEM.

THE MODULES THAT MAKE UP MY ROBOT

NEED TO BE HELD TOGETHER

STRONGLY ENOUGH TO FACE GRUELING COMBAT.

AND I DON'T THINK MECHANICAL
LATCHES OR ELECTROSTATIC FORCES

ARE TOUGH ENOUGH.

BUT I DO HAVE AN IDEA
FOR HOW IT COULD BE DONE.

VELCRO.

NANO-VELCRO ON A MOLECULAR SCALE.

IMAGINE IN THE COMING DECADES,

MILLIONS OF TINY, LITTLE MOLECULAR HOOKS

WITH ATOMIC FORCES WITH REVERSIBLE BONDS

THAT ARE MANY TIMES STRONGER
THAN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC FORCE,

THOUSANDS OF TIMES
SMALLER THAN A HUMAN HAIR.

WITH NANO-VELCRO,

I CAN ASSEMBLE MY TRANSFORMER
INTO ANY IMAGINABLE SHAPE.

AT ONE MOMENT, IT COULD BE LIQUID,

ABLE TO RUN THROUGH CRACKS AND UNDER DOORS,

THEN THE NEXT MOMENT, COMPLETELY SOLID,

HELD TOGETHER BY MOLECULAR
BONDS AS STRONG AS STEEL.

NANOTECHNOLOGY IS THE FINAL
MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.

MY BATTLE-BOTS NOW HAVE

UNLIMITED TRANSFORMING CAPABILITIES.

THEY'RE COMPLETELY STEALTHY,

AND THEY'RE TOUGH ENOUGH TO
FACE DOWN THE MIGHT OF MEGATRON.

WITH MY DESIGN COMPLETE,

IT'S TIME TO REVEAL IT
TO MY TOUGHEST CRITICS.

BUT HOW WILL IT STAND UP

TO THEIR BELOVED TRANSFORMING TRUCKS?

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT TRUE
SHAPESHIFTING CAPABILITIES

COMPATIBLE WITH THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.

NOW, HEY, SOME FANS MAY NOT LIKE THAT.

THEY'RE USED TO SEEING TRANSFORMERS

TURN INTO CARS AND TRUCKS,

BUT I BELIEVE THAT A
TRUE SHAPESHIFTING ROBOT

IS WORTHY OF THE NAME "TRANSFORMER."

BUT WE'LL LET THE FANS DECIDE.

THANKS FOR THE RIDE, MAN. NO PROBLEM.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

HEY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

I'M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW
TO BUILD A TRANSFORMER.

HOW MANY OF YOU PEOPLE BELIEVE

THAT SCIENCE WILL ONE DAY

BE ABLE TO TURN A ROBOT INTO A CORVETTE?

[ CROWD CHEERS ]

HEY! WELL, I'M GONNA SHOW YOU HOW TO DO IT.

IN FACT, I'M GONNA GO ONE STEP BETTER.

THE KEY TO DO THIS IS SOMETHING
CALLED MODULAR ROBOTS.

AND WITH MODULAR ROBOTS,

WE CAN GO WAY BEYOND
TRANSFORMING TECHNOLOGY.

I'M GONNA SHOW YOU TRUE
SHAPESHIFTING CAPABILITY.

THE BUILDING BLOCKS THAT
MAKE UP MY TRANSFORMER

ARE MICROSCOPIC ROBOTS.

EACH MODULE HAS ITS OWN ROBOTIC BRAIN.

AND WORKING TOGETHER, THEY
CAN FORM ANY CONCEIVABLE SHAPE.

WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE THE POWER OF A GOD,

TO RE-CREATE MATTER IN ANY IMAGE WE DESIRE.

L.E.D. TECHNOLOGY EMBEDDED IN EACH MODULE

ALLOWS THEM TO BLEND
PERFECTLY INTO ANY SITUATION.

HERE IS, NOW, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN...

OPTIMUS PRIME.

AND WHO IS HE UP AGAINST?

MEGATRON. BOO!

NANO-VELCRO GIVES MY BATTLE-BOT

THE RESILIENCE TO SLUG
IT OUT WITH THE ENEMY.

BUT WHY USE BRAWN WHEN I'VE GOT
ULTIMATE TRANSFORMING POWERS?

TINY JETS WILL BUD OFF FROM THE COLONY

TO OVERWHELM MEGATRON'S DEFENSES.

THEY'LL THEN TRANSFORM ONCE MORE

INTO A MIST OF DEADLY MINI-BOTS.

THESE MINI-BOTS HAVE THE ABILITY

TO SHORT-CIRCUIT TRANSISTORS,
EAT INTO COMPONENTS,

GUM UP THEIR MACHINERY,

UNTIL MEGATRON BECOMES
A USELESS PILE OF JUNK.

[ CROWD GASPS ]

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT...

MODULAR ROBOTS GIVING US
THE ABILITY TO DEFEAT MEGATRON.

YOU LIKE THAT?

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

THE POSSIBILITY OF USING SMALL ROBOTS

TO INFILTRATE OTHER MECHANISMS
AND SABOTAGE THEM FROM WITHIN

WAS FANTASTIC.

THE WHOLE IDEA OF NOT
BEING LIMITED TO ONE FORM

BUT MULTIPLE SHAPES, JUST
BY DOWNLOADING PROGRAMS,

THAT WAS VERY, VERY EXCITING.

WITH THIS, INSTEAD OF

HAVING TO FILL UP A WHOLE
ROOM WITH APPLIANCES,

I ONLY NEED ONE!

IT'S BEYOND

WHAT THE TRANSFORMERS'
TECHNOLOGY ACTUALLY IS,

SO HE BEAT THE TRANSFORMERS.