Artificial muscles

Figure: Testing of artificial muscles

John Madden’s lab studies unique sensors and non-traditional actuation devices. These can be used to build artificial muscles and sensor arrays to be incorporated into bionic systems. Most of the motors we have available to us spin, which is difficult to adapt into biological-like motion. The nylon-based artificial muscles can produce a high tensile stress and large stroke relative to their size. However, standard devices consume a significant amount of energy. The team is working to improve various aspects of the technology, including muscle fibre strength and actuation speed.