FCTUC researchers develop artificial muscles that adapt to contact with the surrounding environment.
They are artificial muscles, that act on various types of robots in a complanted way, and that adapt to contact with the surrounding environment.
A was conceived by a group of researchers from the University of Coimbra Faculty of Science and Technology (FCTUC) – where they were fully manufactured.
These actuators are made of commercially available materials and manufacturing methods such as 3D printing, explains the college in a statement sent to ZAP.
Its mechanical movement is generated through the water phase transitionfrom liquid to gaseous state, reaching performances higher than the state of the art, namely in terms of the speed and accuracy of the movements, operating the relatively low tensions of 24 volts.
«We select water as a preferential fluid by security which offers, as well as its low diffusivity in the adjacent material. We have shown that relatively high water vaporization enthalpy, that is, the energy needed to transform liquid state water to the gaseous, may not be an impeding factor in the creation of high performance actuators, usually considered a disadvantage in the context of this class of actuator, ”describes Professor Pedro Neto.
The news will move the costs in robot production: these actuators were integrated and demonstrated in a quadruped robot and a biomimetic robotic hand – and will enhance the emergence of a new class of robots with complacent and low production costensures Pedro Neto.
«The application potential is vast and covers several domains, since the creation of bioinspirated robots for monitoring ecosystems, until the development of prostheses, Rehabilitation equipment and industry solutions, such as grippers or robotic hands capable of adapting to grasp and manipulate a wide variety of objects, ”explains the researcher.
