Robot will be as flexible as human

New Zealand scientists have created an artificial muscle that makes robots more flexible and more human, according to New Scientist.

Iain Anderson, co- director of the Laboratory of Computational Biology at the Auckland Institute of Biomedical Engineering , said the findings open the way for artificial muscle development.

The muscles themselves have an electrochemical structure, consisting of two layers of carbon-conducting grease separated by an insulating polymer . This film can stretch to more than 300%. When the input voltage is applied, this structure acts as a capacitor, with a positive charge and a negative charge that accumulates on either side of the insulating layer. Because two opposite charges will attract each other, the insulation is squeezed between the two sides and stretched. When the voltage is off, the insulation film will resilient to its original size.

Future robots will be smoother - Photo: AFP

The motor looks like a bicycle wheel, with elastic muscles stretching between the parts of the wheel and the center, just like the flat spokes. For spinning, 6 muscles work together. The spokes are attached to a foam ring wrapped tightly around the center shaft. This sort of arrangement creates a constant force of rotation.

This is not the first time the electrochemical polymer has been used to generate rotational motion. However, previous studies used a kind of ratchet mechanism instead of foam rings. Designer Anderson and his associates have removed gears, revolvers or anything that is rigid.

Chris Melhuish, director of the Bristol Robotics Lab , said robots made with artificial muscle would be softer that they could mimic the ingenuity and maneuverability of living organisms without the need for mechanical hardware. .

The results could open up a whole new set of applications in the use of artificial muscle. For example, this type of muscle can be used to make flexible endoscopic devices that can gently sweep through small incisions but still perform as rigid as mechanical devices.