Making Muscles from Fishing Line

Nov-24-16 Researchers at MIT have created an innovative—and less expensive—artificial muscle made of nylon fiber.

The artificial muscle is based on the properties of coiled nylon filaments, which can extend and retract to function as artificial linear muscles. However, the coil was limited in the ways it could flex, and could not bend like finger joints. To overcome this obstacle, the team worked off another characteristic of nylon—its tendency to grow fatter and shorter when heated. With this in mind, the team developed a way to shape the nylon filaments into a rectangle, which allowed them to apply heat at different angles and cause the nylon to bend in an array of complex motions.

According to the team, “In general, anywhere that muscle-like motion such as bending is needed, nylon artificial muscle can be useful.”

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