Artificial Muscles: Mechanisms, Applications, and Challenges
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
The area of artificial muscle is a highly interdisciplinary field of research that has evolved rapidly in the last 30 years. Recent advances in nanomaterial fabrication and characterization, specifically carbon nanotubes and nanowires, have had major contributions in the development of artificial muscles. However, what can artificial muscles really do for humans? This question is considered here by first examining nature's solutions to this design problem and then discussing the structure, actuation mechanism, applications, and limitations of recently developed artificial muscles, including highly oriented semicrystalline polymer fibers; nanocomposite actuators; twisted nanofiber yarns; thermally activated…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 30.04
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 233
Authors
2Topics & keywords
- Artificial muscle
- Materials science
- Actuator
- Electrostriction
- Nanotechnology
- Polymer
- Biomimetic materials
- Nanocomposite