SuperFast Robot Muscles

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe they can develop robotic "muscles" that work 1000 times faster than the human equivalent. Currently, robotic muscles move 100 times slower than ours.

The robotic muscles would be made from conductive polymer fibers that react very quickly when exposed to charged density waves called solitons.

"[A soliton] is like an ocean wave that can travel long distances without breaking up," said Sidney Yip, the lead theorists for the new robotic muscle.

The image above shows a soliton (red and blue striped blob) moving along a conducting polymer chain (aqua and yellow for hydrogen and carbon, respectively). As the soliton moves, it causes a localized bend in the chain.

The new theory suggests that scientists have been building robotic muscles all wrong. Traditionally, they've been bathing the conductive polymer fibers with charged particles called ions. This expanded the volume of the fibers and made them stronger, but it also made them heavier and slower. The new method devised by Yip's lab requires only shining a light on the fibers. Without the extra weight of the added ions, the fibers can bend and flex more quickly.

--Ker Than

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Credit:  MIT/Sydney Yip