New material could make robot muscles better, faster, stronger
By Donald Melanson 
posted March 20th 2009 10:23PM
posted March 20th 2009 10:23PM
There's already been countless advances in the always exciting field of robot muscles, but a team of researchers from the University of Texas have now made what appears to be a considerable leap forward, which they say could allow for "performance characteristics that have not previously been obtained." The key to that is an entirely new material comprised of ribbons of tangled nanotubes, which can expand its width by 220% when a voltage is applied and return to its original shape in just milliseconds when the voltage is removed. What's more, the material is not only "stronger than steel and stiffer than diamond," but it's able to withstand an extreme range of temperatures from -196 °C to 1538 °C, which could allow robots equipped with the muscles to operate with ease in a wide variety of off-world colonies, er, "harsh environments." Head on past the break for a demonstration of the material in its non-robot form.
[Image courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
[Image courtesy NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]
Question: Will the artificial muscle enhanced robot grunt when it lifts heavy things?
In all seriousness though, this is pretty damn cool. I would like to see who picks this up first, well if anyone does
No, only when the robot hops up each step in a flight of stairs. Huh! Huh! Huh! Huh!
Is it, by chance, called Coltan?
*Terminator: SCC reference*
Those JPL sons of bitches. Thanks for hastening the fall of mankind, asses.
That would depend on whether or not these scientists have good taste, but clearly anyone with half a brain would steer well clear of such a horrible TV series, and from the looks of it these people have more than a few good brains' worth of grey matter.
*Que Brad Fidel music.
DA DUN DUN DA DUN... DA DUN DUN DA DUN...
I read your comment, Kiwi, and immediately knew you were new here - and indeed, as this is your first comment, no offense taken. It's kind of just a thing here at Engadget to claim that any robotic advancement is a sure sign of the impending Judgement Day crisis. Call us weird if you will - it's not like it's normal anyway.
Maximum Strength !!
Yes, this thing can run Crysis!
Ci@lis and Vi@gr@ are history. All you need is an implant and everyone will be an iron man =P
@ sachin
what are u??
The Grand Daddy of Engadget??
@K2
DUH! haven't you seen his avatar? it's very well known.
All your base are belong to us!
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Looks like Ethernet wiring in an arm to me.
Um, that's just the illustration. It look a lot different in the video of the actual material.
Unrelated: nobody commented on how this lady is the worst announcer/narrator/voiceover ever?
so christian bale's batman cape can be made?
I was thinking along the lines of real super hero suits. Finally a reason why skinny dudes put on spandex and appear muscly... THE SUIT HAS A NANOTUBE MUSCULAR EXOSKELETON!
Ah-dah-duh-duh-duh. A Christian Bale joke? Ohhhhh, goooood for you. Fucks sake man, you're amateur.
fuck it, we'll do it live! fuckin' thing sucks!
He stinks... WORST BATEMAN EVER!
and I am including George Looney!
AHAHAHH!!!
seriously... his whisper voice does not work for John Connor... Anyway I am going to the movie to see the Terminators not that clown...
http://poejie13.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/nano-suit.jpg
@ iGoon#2
1. I actually thought Bale was amazing in Bateman, accurately portraying the grim everyday realities of fish bait in a fish-eat-bait world. He was pretty good in Dark Knight, too,
2. George Looney? I'm not familiar with his works...care to give me some of his titles?
3. Was that random laugh in your post you laughing at your own "Looney" pun?
4. The movie's not out yet. Anyway, in the trailers you probably didn't notice Bale isn't using his "whisper voice" for John Connor...it was just something he did to make Batman appear less human and more menacing. He pulled it off pretty well in my opinion.
@The dude
I don't know that word.
In practical use this could do wonders for assisted mobilty....they could makea suit for ms paitents and
aww who am I kidding, SUPERPOWERS!!!!!!
no one recalls stephen hawking??
Oh snap!
Grab it, Bend it, Break it, Crush it,
Shock it, Tense it, Flex, Relax it
Okay but please hurry up now cuz we can't wait much longer.
Work it, make it, do it, makes us…
HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER
This article would have benefited from some Daft Punk pics. Cause, you know, they are robots and all.
dont forget to bop it!!
Crysis nanosuit in strength mode anyone?
Maximum Strength!
http://members.cox.net/mentallynormal/crysis8.jpg
Maximum strength indeed, this thing can run Crysis!
Yeah but if I don't work out soon and get real muscles I'm not gonna get laid ;(
Helmet...check. Cape...check. Breathing machine...check. Manipulating plasma into a rod shape...check. Synthetic muscle for use in robots and prosthetics...check. So...Darth Vader should exist soon.
We just need a burns victim
can somebody say "cyborg improvements like general grevious?
Where's the typical engadget joke about robots enslaving humanity?
oh, wise engadget team, they don't want to die.
work it harder make it better do it faster makes us stronger, more than ever hour after hour work is never over.
sorry, the title just made me think that.
Finally!
I'm not the only one here who thought of Daft Punk!
Lol I thought that was the point of the title. Although... it misses harder.
I can't believe this entire comment board hasn't exploded with Daft Punk yet.
Seriously, I thought this was Engadget.
It's "our work is never over."
you know, i thought it was that, then i got lyrics downloaded to my ipod that said what i just said, now i'm not sure....
Daft Punk, The Six Million Dollar Man... It's all good.
i was pretty sure engadget got the title from daft punk and it wasnt a coincidence the first time i read it.
daft punk