Artificial muscle helps humanoid robots lift 4,000 times their own weight

Researchers in South Korea have built an artificial muscle that can lift around 4,000 times its own weight.

- BOBBY HELLARD

They say it can be used in future humanoid robots. A key breakthrough with the muscle's design is its ability to be flexible or taut when needed, which is a first for this field of research. "This research overcomes the fundamental limitation where traditional artificial muscles are either highly stretchable but weak or strong but stiff," said Hoon Eui Jeong, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology. "Our composite material can do both, opening the door to more versatile soft robots, wearable devices and intuitive human-machine interfaces."