INNOVATION
meaning they can be used in applications
ranging from precision work such as
surgery, to wearable robotic exoskeletons,
deep-sea manipulators for research
or construction, and large deployable
structures for space exploration.
Rob Wood, PhD, Founding Core Faculty
member of the Wyss Institute, added:
“Artificial muscle-like actuators are one of
the most important grand challenges in all
of engineering. Now that we have created
actuators with properties similar to natural
muscle, we can imagine building almost
any robot for almost any task.”
Looking at how much has been achieved
in the field of robotics, and specifically in the
sub-fields outlined above, we can see just how
much has been achieved over the past decade,
and even the past couple of years. Taking into
account the exponential rate of progress in these
and related fields, such as artificial intelligence
(AI) and machine learning, it is clear that the
future depicted so clearly in 20th and 21st
century science fiction is closer than we think. ■
It is clear that the
future depicted
so clearly in 20th
and 21st century
science fiction
is closer than
we think. “
Sources
1. Brownell, L. 2017. Artificial muscles give soft robots superpowers. Wyss Institute, 27 November. https://wyss.harvard.edu/artificial-muscles-give-
soft-robots-superpowers.
2. Fan, S. 2017. Thought-Controlled Prosthetic Hand Restores 100 Realistic Touch Sensations. Singularity Hub, 27 November. https://singularityhub.
com/2017/11/27/thought-controlled-prosthetic-hand-delivers-100-realistic-sensations.
3. Gohd, C. 2017. A new futuristic robot lets your arms lift half a ton. Futurism, 28 October.
4. https://futurism.com/futuristic-robot-lets-your-arms-lift-half-a-ton.
5. Li, S., Vogta, D.M., Rusc, D. & Wood, R.J. 2017. Fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(PNAS) [published online before print on 27 November]. http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/11/21/1713450114.abstract.
6. Silverberg, D. 2017. Inside the mechanics of building 8,000lb human-powered robo-athletes. Ars Technica, 30 November. https://arstechnica.com/
gaming/2017/11/the-race-to-human-powered-robot-athletes-is-already-underway.
7. Simon, M. 2017. The Guardian GT’s 7-foot-long arms make it the most bonkers robot on Earth. Wired, 25 October. https://www.wired.com/story/
the-guardian-gt.