Soft Robotic Actuators Inspired by Human MuscleSoft Robotic Actuators Inspired by Human Muscle

Researchers are beginning to bridge the gap between humans and robots by inventing technology to make it safer for them to work alongside each other. As part of this effort, researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed vacuum-driven soft robotic actuators that work like human muscles.

Wyss is at the forefront of robotic research, and the new soft robotic actuators -- called vacuum-actuated muscle-inspired pneumatic structures (VAMPs) -- demonstrate some of their cutting-edge work. The team -- led by George Whitesides, a core faculty member at the institute -- was inspired by the human bicep muscle to develop actuators similar to skeletal muscles that use vacuum power to automate soft, rubber beams.

Researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have developed soft robotic actuators inspired by human muscle. The actuators act very similarly to human muscle and make it safer for the robots using them to work alongside humans because they are soft and pose no threat to their surrounding environment.
(Source: Wyss Institute, Harvard University)