Scientists develop durable materials for flexible artificial muscles
4×5 inch film made of 10 layers of high performance dielectric elastomer (PHDE) which can be processed and stacked together with 20 actuators. Credit: Software Research Lab/UCLA UCLA materials scientists and colleagues at the non-profit scientific research institute SRI International have developed new materials and manufacturing processes to create artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts. “Creating artificial muscles to allow work and detect force and touch has been one of the great challenges of science and engineering,” said Qibing Pei, professor of materials science and engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and correspondent author of a recently published study in Science . For a soft material to be considered for use as an artificial muscle, it must be capable of generating mechanical energy and still be able to withstand high strain conditions—meaning that it does not easily