Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
3D Printed Artificial Muscles Are Stronger Than Yours
3D-printable, synthetic soft muscles that can mimic natural biological systems can lift 1000 times their own weight, thanks to boffins at the Columbia Engineering Creative Machines lab. And yes, these artificial muscles are three times stronger than natural muscles.
((L) The electrically actuated muscle with thin resistive wire in a rest position;
(R) The muscle is expanded using only a low voltage (8V).
Credit: Aslan Miriyev/Columbia Engineering)
Existing soft-actuator technologies are typically based on bulky pneumatic or hydraulic inflation of elastomer skins that expand when air or liquid is supplied to them, which require external compressors and pressure-regulating equipment.“We’ve been making great strides toward making robot minds, but robot bodies are still primitive,” said Hod Lipson, PhD, a professor of mechanical engineering. “This is a big piece of the puzzle and, like biology, the new actuator can be shaped and reshaped a thousand ways. We’ve overcome one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots.”
Science fiction authors find uses for the idea of artificial muscles; Martin Caidin makes good use of artificial muscles in his 1972 novel Cyborg and you'll enjoy the eerie steampunk description of Quasi-Muscles (Sham Musculature) in H.G. Wells' 1898 blockbuster War of the Worlds.
Science fiction movie buffs also remember the upper body musculature of the NS-5 robots from the 2004 film I, Robot, taken from the Isaac Asimov short story.
(Upper body 'musculature' NS-5 Robot from I, Robot movie)
Technovelgy readers have been following Hod Lipson and his group of intrepid roboticists for quite some time:
- Starfish Robot Shows Robotic Introspection And Self-Modeling
A new four-legged robot can automatically synthesize a predictive model of its own topology (where and how its body parts are connected), and then successfully move around. (2006) - Self-Replicating Modular Robots
Hod Lipson, Victor Zykov, Efstathios Mytilinaios and Bryant Adams have been working on machines that replicate themselves. (2005) - Fab@Home 'Fabber' Freeform Fabricator
The Fab@Home free-form fabricator may bring the rapid prototyping revolution right into the privacy of your own home. (2007) - Starfish Robot Stretching Video
Towards the end of the video, the robot conceptualizes itself, determining its own structure using sensors built into each joint. (2007) - Automated Biology Explorer (ABE), Robot Scientist
An artificially intelligent computer system that can analyze raw experimental data from biology experiments and derive the equations that describe how that biological system operates. (2011) - Eureqa Artificially Intelligent Computer Scientist
Eureqa is an artificial intelligence program that autonomously seeks working equations to describe data from experiments. (2009)
Via Scientists remove one of the final barriers to making lifelike robots.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/12/2017)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Engineering ")
Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...' - Robert Heinlein, 1956.
Secret Kill Switch Found In Yutong Buses
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...' - Keith Laumer, 1965.
The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.' - Ray Bradbury, 1950.
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Golf Ball Test Robot Wears Them Out
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
Boring Company Vegas Loop Like Asimov Said
'There was a wall ahead... It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
Rigid Metallic Clothing From Science Fiction To You
'...support the interior human structure against Jupiter’s pull.'
Is The Seattle Ultrasonics C-200 A Heinlein Vibroblade?
'It ain't a vibroblade. It's steel. Messy.'
Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm
'Anything larger than a BB shot it picked up and placed in a tray...'
A Beautiful Visualization Of Compact Food
'The German chemists have discovered how to supply the needed elements in compact, undiluted form...'
Bone-Building Drug Evenity Approved
'Compounds devised by the biochemists for the rapid building of bone...'
Secret Kill Switch Found In Yutong Buses
'The car faltered as the external command came to brake...'
Inmotion Electric Unicycle In Combat
'It is about the size and shape of a kitchen stool, gyro-stabilized...'
Grok Scores Best In Psychological Tests
'Try to find out how he ticks...'
PaXini Supersensitive Robot Fingers
'My fingers are not that sensitive...'
Congress Considers Automatic Emergency Braking, One Hundred Years Too Late
'The greatest problem of all was the elimination of the human element of braking together with its inevitable time lag.'
The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination
'Across the ancient sea floor a dozen tall, blue-sailed Martian sand ships floated, like blue smoke.'
The Zapata Air Scooter Would Be Great In A Science Fiction Story
'Betty's slapdash style.'
Thermostabilized Wet Meat Product (NASA Prototype)
There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
Could Crystal Batteries Generate Power For Centuries?
'Power could be compressed thus into an inch-square cube of what looked like blue-white ice'
