The Chemical Connection: Onshoring PCB Production—Daunting but Certainly Possible
It’s Only Common Sense: The Phone Is Still Mightier Than the Keyboard
Artificial Muscles for Soft Robots
April 9, 2019 | Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied SciencesEstimated reading time: 1 minute
When we think about fast robots, we tend to think of rigid, traditional robotics like those found in factory automation, or perhaps the recent parkour-like demonstrations of the Atlas robot — not soft, squishy devices like the Octobot.
Developing soft, artificial muscles that are also fast and strong is an important step in developing soft robots that can both safely interact with people and complete important tasks.
Now, a team of researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed fully soft, electrically driven artificial muscles that operate on par with natural muscles.
The muscle is made using dielectric elastomers, soft materials with good insulating properties, that deform when an electric field is applied. By using a new combination of nanoscale conductive particles and many layers of thin soft elastomers, the researchers demonstrated that they could achieve contraction forces, motions, and operating frequencies on par with natural muscles.
This artificial muscle could be used for prosthetics, surgical robots, and wearable devices, as well as soft robots capable of locomotion and manipulation in natural or human-centric environments.
“Before this research, we didn't know the limits of performance of dielectric elastomer artificial muscles, meaning how much energy can we put in before they break down, and how much work we could get out,” said Mihai Duduta, Postdoctoral Fellow in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering and first author of the study. “Now, we can make artificial muscles that are as strong and as fast as natural muscles, and can be driven directly by an electric signal rather than indirectly by a pump, as previous research has done for fluidically-driven artificial muscles.”
Next, the researchers aim to develop more conductive electrodes, and less viscoelastic elastomers to make the muscles even faster and stronger.
The research was co-authored by Robert Wood, the Charles River Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at SEAS, David Clarke, Extended Tarr Family Professor of Materials at SEAS, Ehsan Hajiesmaili and Huichan Zhao.
It was supported by the National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Grant (MRSEC).
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
ITW EAE Despatch Ovens Now Support ASTM 5423 Testing
10/15/2025 | ITW EAEAs the demand for high-performance electrical insulation materials continues to grow—driven by the rapid expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems—thermal processing has become a critical step in material development.
Beyond Thermal Conductivity: Exploring Polymer-based TIM Strategies for High-power-density Electronics
10/13/2025 | Padmanabha Shakthivelu and Nico Bruijnis, MacDermid Alpha Electronics SolutionsAs power density and thermal loads continue to increase, effective thermal management becomes increasingly important. Rapid and efficient heat transfer from power semiconductor chip packages is essential for achieving optimal performance and ensuring long-term reliability of temperature-sensitive components. This is particularly crucial in power systems that support advanced applications such as green energy generation, electric vehicles, aerospace, and defense, along with high-speed computing for data centers and artificial intelligence (AI).
Is Glass Finally Coming of Age?
10/13/2025 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Substrates, by definition, form the base of all electronic devices. Whether discussing silicon wafers for semiconductors, glass-and-epoxy materials in printed circuits, or the base of choice for interposers, all these materials function as substrates. While other substrates have come and gone, silicon and FR-4 have remained the de facto standards for the industry.
Creative Materials to Showcase Innovative Functional Inks for Medical Devices at COMPAMED 2025
10/09/2025 | Creative Materials, Inc.Creative Materials, a leading manufacturer of high-performance functional inks and coatings, is pleased to announce its participation in COMPAMED 2025, taking place November 17–20 in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Jiva Leading the Charge Toward Sustainable Innovation
09/30/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineEnvironmental sustainability in business—product circularity—is a high priority these days. “Circularity,” the term meant to replace “recycling,” in its simplest definition, describes a full circle life for electronic products and all their elements. The result is re-use or a near-complete reintroduction of the base materials back into the supply chain, leaving very little left for waste. For what cannot be reused productively, the ultimate hope is to have better, less harmful means of disposal and/or materials that can seamlessly and harmlessly decompose and integrate back into the natural environment. That is where Jiva and Soluboard come in.