ETH research team creates robots with real muscles

The researchers designed the living muscle tissue from mouse cells and a soft hydrogel scaffold together on a computer from the very beginning. Keystone / Claudio Thoma

A research team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich has created robots with real muscles. They can jump, swim, walk and grasp objects.

Until now, muscle tissue grown in the laboratory often contracted so weakly that movements were barely visible to the naked eye, as the ETH explained in a press release on Thursday.

The research team therefore adopted a new approachExternal link. For the first time, they designed the living muscle tissue from mouse cells and a soft hydrogel scaffold together on a computer from the very beginning. An algorithm determined the shape that would allow the muscle contraction to achieve the greatest mechanical leverage. The scaffolds were then produced using 3D printing.

According to the university, the resulting actuators, which are around 1.5 centimetres long, deform up to eleven times more than previous systems with a comparable amount of muscle. When jumping, a robot lifts itself about five millimetres off the ground – equivalent to a third of its body length. A running version achieves 6.2 millimetres per second and, relative to its size, is faster than any previously known running bio-robot.

However, there is still a long way to go before they can be used outside the laboratory. The muscles currently rely on a nutrient solution to survive.

The researchers emphasise that, for future, larger systems, the development of an artificial vascular system for the transport of nutrients and oxygen is absolutely essential. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.

+ How we produce news in English
Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist. 

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