Artificial muscles successfully created from ultra-cheap plastic fibers.

A team of international scientists has successfully created an artificial muscle made from ultra-cheap plastic fibers.

Illustrative image. (Source: sites.google.com)

According to research published in the American journal Science on February 20th, the material scientists used to create artificial muscles is polymer fiber – a type of ultra-durable chemical fiber with a diameter 10 times that of a human hair, widely used in the garment industry and for making fishing lines.

With this material, the cost of producing synthetic cues is significantly reduced compared to cues currently made from nickel and titanium alloys. Synthetic cues made from plastic fibers cost only $5/kg compared to $3,000/kg for cues made from alloys.

Made using a method previously successfully applied by scientists—twisting fibers like braiding rope—artificial muscles made from plastic fibers perform functions and have strength similar to those of alloy muscles.

According to scientists, muscles made from plastic fibers can lift an object weighing about 7.3 kg, while a collection of hundreds of artificial muscles made from these fibers can lift up to 800 kg.

This newly developed type of muscle can contract to about 50% of its original length, while a human muscle can only contract to 20%. Artificial muscles could be used as next-generation motors for robotic arms, components of aircraft wings, medical devices, and more.

Previously, scientists worldwide had also successfully created artificial muscles from carbon nanofibers using the same rope-twisting method.

This new invention was researched and developed by scientists from the University of Texas (USA) in collaboration with research institutes in countries such as China, Canada, Türkiye, Australia, and South Korea.

According to VNA