The quest to replicate the flexibility, controllability, and dexterity of human muscles and associated limbs has inspired some truly “non-obvious” but highly workable actuator concepts. For example, ...

These are the applications where getting the actuator specification wrong has consequences beyond inconvenience. Heavy duty actuators exist for exactly this reason. Understanding what separates them ...

An international team of researchers led by Ray Baughman of the University of Texas at Dallas has developed a new type of artificial muscle made from a “yarn” of twisted carbon-nanotube threads ...