Modern robots can do a lot. But at the same time, they are far from human ease and grace of movements. And the fault is - imperfect artificial muscles. Scientists from many countries are trying to solve this problem. The article will be devoted to a brief overview of their amazing inventions.
Polymer muscles from Singapore scientists
A step towards more humanoid robots was recently made by inventors from the National University of Singapore. Today, heavyweight androids are powered by hydraulic systems. A significant disadvantage of the latter is low speed. Artificial muscles for robots, presented by Singaporean scientists, allow cyborgs not only to lift objects that are 80 times heavier than their own weight, but also to do it as quickly as a person.
An innovative design that stretches five times in length helps the robots "get around" even ants, which are known to be able to carry objects 20 times heavier than the weight of their own bodies. Polymer muscles have the following advantages:
- flexibility;
- striking strength;
- elasticity;
- the ability to change its shape in a few seconds;
- the ability to convert kinetic energy into electrical energy.
However, scientists are not going to stop there - they plan to create artificial muscles that would allow a robot to lift a load 500 times heavier than itself!
Discovery from Harvard - muscles from electrodes and elastomer
Inventors who work at the School of Applied and Engineering Sciences at Harvard University have presented qualitatively new artificial muscles for the so-called "soft" robots. According to scientists, their brainchild, consisting of a soft elastomer and electrodes, which include carbon nanotubes, is not inferior in quality to human muscles!
All robots that exist today, as already mentioned, are based on drives, whose mechanism is hydraulics or pneumatics. Such systems are powered by compressed air or the reaction of chemicals. This makes it impossible to construct a robot that is as soft and fast as a human. Harvard scientists have eliminated this shortcoming by creating a qualitatively new concept of artificial muscles for robots.
The new cyborg "muscle" is a multi-layered structure in which nanotube electrodes created in Clark's lab control the top and bottom layers of flexible elastomers, the brainchild of scientists from the University of California. Such musclesideal for both "soft" androids and laparoscopic instruments in surgery.
Harvard scientists did not stop at this wonderful invention. One of their latest developments is a stingray biorobot. Its components are rat heart muscle cells, gold and silicone.
The invention of the Bauchmann group: another type of artificial muscle based on carbon nanotubes
Back in 1999 in the Australian town of Kirchberg at the 13th meeting of the International Winter School on the Electronic Properties of Innovative Materials, the scientist Ray Bauchman, who works at Allied Signal and heads an international research group, made a presentation. His post was about making artificial muscles.
Developers led by Ray Bauchman were able to imagine carbon nanotubes in the form of sheets of nanopaper. The tubes in this invention were in every possible way intertwined and mixed up with each other. The nanopaper itself resembled ordinary paper in its appearance - it could be held in hands, cut into strips and pieces.
The experiment of the group was very simple in appearance - scientists attached pieces of nanopaper to different sides of adhesive tape and lowered this structure into a s alty electrically conductive solution. After the low-voltage battery was turned on, both nanostrips elongated, especially the one connected to the negative pole of the electric battery; then the paper curled up. The artificial muscle model functioned.
Bauchman himself believes that his invention after a qualitative modernizationwill significantly transform robotics, because such carbon muscles, when flexed / extended, create an electrical potential - they produce energy. In addition, such muscles are three times stronger than human, can function at extremely high and low temperatures, using low current and voltage for their work. It is quite possible to use it for prosthetics of human muscles.
University of Texas: artificial muscles made from fishing line and sewing thread
One of the most striking is the work of a research team from the University of Texas, which is located in Dallas. She managed to get a model of artificial muscles, in its strength and power reminiscent of a jet engine - 7.1 hp / kg! Such muscles are hundreds of times stronger and more productive than human ones. But the most amazing thing here is that they were constructed from primitive materials - high-strength polymer fishing line and sewing thread.
The nutrition of such a muscle is a temperature difference. It is provided by a sewing thread coated with a thin layer of metal. However, in the future, the muscles of robots may be fueled by changes in the temperature of their environment. This property, by the way, may well be applied to weather-adapting clothing and other similar devices.
If the polymer is twisted in one direction, it will shrink sharply when heated and quickly stretch when cooled, and if it is twisted in the opposite direction, it will be completely opposite. Such a simple design can, for example, rotate an overall rotor at a speed of 10 thousand revolutions / min. Plus suchartificial muscles from fishing line in that they are able to contract up to 50% of their original length (human only by 20%). In addition, they are distinguished by amazing endurance - this muscle does not "get tired" even after a million repetitions of the action!
From Texas to Amur
The discovery of scientists from Dallas has inspired many scientists from around the world. However, only one roboticist managed to successfully repeat their experience - Alexander Nikolaevich Semochkin, head of the information technology laboratory at the Belarusian State Pedagogical University.
At first, the inventor patiently waited for new articles in Science about the mass implementation of the invention of American colleagues. Since this did not happen, the Amur scientist decided with his like-minded people to repeat the wonderful experience and create artificial muscles from copper wire and fishing line with their own hands. But, alas, the copy was not viable.
Inspiration from Skolkovo
Return to almost abandoned experiments Alexander Semochkin was forced by a chance - the scientist got to a robotics conference in Skolkovo, where he met a like-minded person from Zelenograd, the head of the Neurobotics company. As it turned out, the engineers of this company are also busy creating muscles from fishing lines, which are quite viable.
Returning to his homeland, Alexander Nikolaevich set to work with renewed vigor. In a month and a half, he was able not only to assemble workable artificial muscles, but also to create a machine for twisting them, which made coils of fishing linestrictly repeatable.
Annunciation artificial musculature
To create a five-centimeter muscle, A. N. Semochkin needs several meters of wire and 20 cm of ordinary fishing line. A 3D-printed muscle "production" machine, by the way, twists a muscle in 10 minutes. Then the structure is placed in an oven heated to +180 degrees Celsius for half an hour.
You can activate such a muscle with the help of electric current - just connect its source to the wire. As a result, it begins to heat up and transfer its heat to the fishing line. The latter stretches or contracts, depending on the type of muscle that the device has twisted.
Inventor's Plans
Alexander Semochkin's new project is to "teach" the created muscles to return to their original state faster. This can be helped by the rapid cooling of the power wire - the scientist suggests that such a process will occur faster under water. After such a muscle is obtained, Iskanderus, an anthropomorphic robot of the Belarusian State Pedagogical University, will become its first owner.
The scientist does not keep his invention a secret - he posts videos on YouTube, and also plans to write an article with detailed instructions for creating a machine that twists muscles from fishing line and wire.
Time does not stand still - the artificial muscles that we told you about are already used in surgery for endo- andlaparoscopic operations. And in the laboratory "Disney" with their participation, they assembled a functioning hand.
