Rubbery artificial muscles promise to make robots more lifelike

Some robots may already look pretty lifelike , nevertheless it’s still quite an extra story after they’re actually moving, when the complete mechanical parts inside make themselves known with some unmistakable, robot-like movements. Some researchers at New Zealand’s Auckland Bioengineering Institute now have one possible technique to that problem, however — a motor without any of the same old moving parts. Instead, the rubbery, Cronenberg-esque contraption is determined by some electroactive structures that may stretch by greater than 300 percent, and expand and contract when a voltage is applied. While things are patently still very early, it’s conceivable that robots could eventually be built entirely out of those artificial muscles — or, as lead researcher Iain Anders succinctly puts it, “the long run is soft.” Video after the break.

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This post is tagged: artificial muscles, bioengineering, contraption, different story, moving parts, possible solution