Robots pump more iron with fuel-powered muscles
MSI Chicago Science of Star Wars exhibit - Luke Skywalker's prosthetic hand.
(Credit: boliyou. Some rights reserved.)
Most of today’s robots are powered by motors or batteries. But like any electrical device, a robot’s energy runs out quickly, and the robot has to be plugged in to recharge. Now, scientists are developing fuel-powered artificial muscles to free robots from the wall socket.
EarthSky spoke with Ray Baughman, director of the NanoTech Institute at UT Dallas. Baughman is steering humanoid robots towards a power system that mimics our own human muscles. Just as we convert our fuel – food – into chemical energy, Baughman envisions a future where a shot of high-density fuel will reinvigorate a robot’s energy.
These robot muscles are made on the nanoscale — the artificial muscles are made of very thin wires that are coated with nano particles.
Baughman said the nano fuels can store 30 times more energy than batteries, and it can make the artificial muscles up to 500 times stronger than human muscles.
These super muscles could be used for prosthetic limbs, and robotic exoskeletons that would give humans super strength. And it would make better, sportier humanoid robots.
Nothing is science fiction anymore, sounds too good to be true, I think I’ll take medical electronics this semester, probably I can be a part of it too one day or another. Helping people just like doctors do !