Microscale torsional muscle system can simulate active neuromuscular system

http://newscenter.lbl.gov/news-releases/2013/12/19/a-micro-muscular-break-through/

U.S. Department of Energy and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researchers have developed a micro-sized robotic torsional muscle/motor made from vanadium dioxide. For its size, it is a thousand times more powerful than a human muscle, able to catapult objects 50 times heavier than itself over a distance five times its length within 60 milliseconds.

“Multiple micro-muscles can be assembled into a micro-robotic system that simulates an active neuromuscular system,” said Berkely professor Junqiao Wu.  “The naturally combined functions of proximity sensing and torsional motion allow the device to remotely detect a target and respond by reconfiguring itself to a different shape. This simulates living bodies where neurons sense and deliver stimuli to the muscles and the muscles provide motion.”