Movie shows soft robotic muscles that are three times stronger than humans’
Our latest captioned movie shows how researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed 3D-printed synthetic soft muscles for robots that are three times stronger than human muscle.
The self-contained mechanisms mimic the movement of human muscles, without the need for bulky external compressors or pressure-regulating equipment.
The muscles are 3D-printed using a combination of silicone and ethanol, the latter of which forms small bubbles of alcohol within the gel. The bubbles vaporise when a low-voltage electric current is passed through the material, which causes the soft silicone to expand and move significantly.
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