From slashdot:

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Roland Piquepaille writes "Researchers have discovered that ordinary cellulose is a piezoelectric and smart material that can flap when exposed to an electric field. ScienceNOW reports that electricity can give life to cellophane. When you put a very thin layer of gold on each side of cellophane, and that you apply electric current to the gold layers, one positive, one negative, the cellophane curved toward the positive side. If you switch the voltage fast enough, the cellophane starts to act as a wing. So it should be possible to use it to build lightweight flying robots carrying cameras, microphones or sensors for surveillance missions. Read more for additional references and pictures about this electroactive paper (EAPap)."

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What's interesting about this article is that I worked on a project trying to find an application for electro-deforming cellulose back in 1978. Eventually management decided that it was really interesting, but we couldn't come up with anything practical to do with it. The project was shelved. I guess we were short-sighted. Hey, let's make this stuff fly! Right. My guess is that these researchers are in the same boat we were in. They're gonna' flap a piece of cellophane like a butterfly wing and carry little robot TV cameras. Right. It's desperation time. No commercial uses. Project is about to be shelved. Let's go after some of that DARPA money...