In this system, electrical fields simultaneously stimulate muscle tissue and dynamically adjustable mechanical resistance. The co-stimulated muscle tissue demonstrates robust driving performance, allowing faster robot movement, as per the researchers.
Enhanced artificial muscle tissue
Chinese researchers used the system to create enhanced artificial muscle tissue that could power a small caterpillar-like robot to move at a maximum speed of 2.38mm per second – faster than other reported lifelike robots driven by artificial skeletal muscle tissue. The maximum contraction force of the artificial muscle increased by 98 percent, and the performance of the artificial muscle in some aspects was similar to natural muscle, reported SCMP.