Artificial muscles from fishing line and sewing thread | Science

by Sabine Hauert

25 February 2014

share this:

In designing materials for artificial muscles, the goals are to find those that will combine high strokes, high efficiency, long cycle life, low hysteresis, and low cost. In the latest issue of Science, Haines et al. show that this is possible. Twisting high-strength, readily available polymer fibers, such as those used for fishing lines or sewing thread, to the point where they coil up, allowed construction of highly efficient actuators that could be triggered by a number of stimuli.

See on www.sciencemag.org

Sabine Hauert is President of Robohub and Associate Professor at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory

Soft robotic tool provides new ‘eyes’ in endovascular surgery

The magnetic device can help visualise and navigate complex and narrow spaces.

23 September 2023, by Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems

‘Brainless’ robot can navigate complex obstacles

Researchers who created a soft robot that could navigate simple mazes without human or computer direction have now built on that work, creating a “brainless” soft robot that can navigate more complex and dynamic environments.

21 September 2023, by NC Sate University

Battery-free origami microfliers from UW researchers offer a new bio-inspired future of flying machines

Researchers at the University of Washington present battery-free microfliers that can change shape in mid-air to vary their dispersal distance.

20 September 2023, by The Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering

Virtual-reality tech is fast becoming more real

Touch sensations are improving to help sectors like healthcare and manufacturing, while other advances are being driven by the gaming industry.

16 September 2023, by Horizon Magazine

High-tech microscope with ML software for detecting malaria in returning travellers

Method not as accurate as human experts, but shows promise.

14 September 2023, by Frontiers Science News and AIhub

How drones are used during earthquakes

Drones are being used by responders in the terrible Morocco earthquake.

13 September 2023, by Robin Murphy and Daniel Carrillo-Zapata