MIT Made Muscles Made Of Nylon

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Those big brains over at MIT have developed artificial muscles made of nylon. The simple, low-cost artificial muscles can make the same bending motions that real muscles make by applying heat to nylon fibers.
 
So if you have nylon muscles are you by definition a *hans&franzvoice*girly man?
 
The problem with hydraulic actuators are they are heavy and can be slow. It's one of the things that make walking robots so difficult. I wonder if they could be a future replacement? *rubs chin*

<insert standard "Robots will kill us all" by Steve here>
 
DigitalGriffin said:
The problem with hydraulic actuators are they are heavy and can be slow. It's one of the things that make walking robots so difficult. I wonder if they could be a future replacement? *rubs chin*

<insert standard "Robots will kill us all" by Steve here>
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Don't most robots use electric motors?
 
So, if these fibres then use silver (or copper) wires in a snug coil around them completing a circuit at the other end, an input voltage would cause the wires to heat up in a very controlled fashion, allowing the ability to heat the whole length of the fibre evenly....
 
In other news, the Sex Toy Industry just invested billions in artificial muscles made of nylon.
 
VooDooPC said:
Don't most robots use electric motors?
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Some do, and some don't. It depends on the movement you are interested in. For example some use motor cable tensioners and/or solenoids. (Like to move fingers in a hand) Edit: I forget pulleys and gearing boxes

However to provide the torque necessary at the joint directly the motor would have to be very strong. And they tend to be sizable. Building actuators make more sense in these cases because they can provide both mechanical advantage, size, and flexibility in terms of DOF.

If you look at the video here and see where they kick the dog sideways, it appears to have 4 DOF which is hard to do with sufficient torque in that small a space. You could use cable tensioners but reading the feedback on that system and calibrating the motor on the tension cable is a difficult problem. Hydraulics also provide sound minor feedback "bounce" for impacts, like a real biological system would.

 
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termite said:
One step closer to our Robot Overlords taking human form.
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Long as they are hot looking female killer robots.

Live subject testing would be next! (not for organics?)
More realistic robots would be cool in my book.
 
Problem I see, is that they only show a nylon fiber bending, not really contracting much. Its the contracting that gives muscles their power.
Jim Kim said:
WestWorld has been doing that for 8 episodes.
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The weird thing in WestWorld though is that the 3D printer never appears to change its material, as the bone and muscle tissue seem to be of the same goo.
 
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