Early work towards the Soft-Machine Outfit

In the Nanopunk scifi novel 'The Cloud Connection', the Soft-Machine outfit Alister finds is a fluid programmable substance that can adapt its properties to suit different situations. It receives design instructions over the wireless Cloud network from Janus, a globally connected supercomputer.
The video and text below (from the Cornell Creative Machines lab) illustrate the early developments that led to the manufacture of the Soft-Machine.
In the Soft-Machine, the basic components have been significantly improved and refined through advances in nanotechnology and bio-mutation of genetically engineers biological compounds and nanotechnology to form a fluid that defaults to a super-strong, malleable fabric condition.

Cornell Creative Machines Lab

"A major challenge in fluidic assembly is the dynamically programmable fabrication of arbitrary geometries from basic components. Current approaches require predetermination of either the assembly machinery or the component interfaces for the specific target geometries. This research persues an alternative concept that exploits self-assembly forces locally but directs these forces globally, allowing fabrication and manipulation of target structures without tailoring the substrate or interfaces. By controlling the flow in a microfluidic chamber, components are directed to their target locations where local interactions align and bond them. Following this approach, we have so far demonstrated the experimental assembly of structures composed of two to ten components."