Micro-Muscle Vastly Outperforms Human's

Dec-23-13 A new robotic muscle with 1000 times the power of a human’s could open the door to stronger and more useful micro-machines.

The muscle was developed using vanadium dioxide, which is able to abruptly change its size and shape. The team, from Berkeley Lab, built a V-shaped ribbon made of chromium and vanadium dioxide on a silicon substrate. Releasing the ribbon from the substrate caused it to form a helix connected to chromium electrode pads at both ends. When the coil was heated, it turned into either a micro-catapult able to hurl objects, or a proximity sensor, which uses remote sensing to trigger a rapid change in the muscle’s resistance and shape.

According to team leader Junqiao Wu, “With its combination of power and multi-functionality, our micro-muscle shows great potential for applications that require a high level of functionality integration in a small space.”

More Info about this Invention:

[GIZMAG.COM]
[BERKELEY LAB]

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