News
New research published on Soft Matter by Chen Liu and Dr Ketao Zhang of Robotic Systems Group, in collaboration with Xi’an Jiaotong University (China), demonstrates a new type of variable stiffness artificial muscle.
14 October 2021
![click/tap to enlarge this image... A graphical abstract for the paper content published on the cover of the issue.](/content/news/images/dcaedd6004ae3a20188a1fbf49952030.jpg)
The soft robot requires variable stiffness technology, which shall be simplified and compliant with the robotic motion. As inspired by the principle of biological muscle, this paper designed a light and fully flexible artificial muscle which can be manufactured by 3D printing technology. With a voltage on, the artificial muscle is capable of instantly promoting its stiffness by an induced fringe electric field. The work analyzed this artificial muscle through a combination of theoretical model and experiments and developed a semi-active vibration absorber for vibration attenuation. The results are compared with other variable stiffness technologies and reveal its advantages of fast and light weight in stiffness tunability.
Contact: | Ketao Zhang |
Email: | ketao.zhang@qmul.ac.uk |
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Updated by: Ketao Zhang