Thin, Flexible Artificial Muscles

New Innovation from KAIST of South Korea

Source:  KAIST

Many Potential Uses: Like Wearable Robotics, Active Biomedical Devices

This is a remarkable invention by scientists at KAIST, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea.  They've developed thin strip muscles that respond to electricity and move.  In their announcement, the scientists say the muscles bloom, dance and wave.  As you can see in the picture of the robotic butterfly, the wings which open and close are made of the artificial muscle.

Critical Ingredient
This new artificial muscle could have important applications in soft robotics and for small muscle replacements.  The scientists made the muscle from an improved form of the high electrically conductive material MXene, which until now has been too rigid for such use.  The KAIST team bonded MXene into the polymer.  The result is a highly flexible and thin artificial muscle that flexes immediately when triggered by an electrical current.  Their work has just been published in Science Robotics.

Robotic Butterflies and Flower Brooches
So far the team has used the artificial muscles as the moving wings of robotic butterflies.  They've also incorporated them into a narcissus-like flower brooch that opens its petals.  But the uses are many including active biomedical devices, haptic feedback, wearable robotics and kinetic art.  For a free Kindle borrow of my book "List of Top New Robots", go to amazon.com/author/ekane
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K4QX385/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i11




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