Fluid-driven origami-inspired artificial muscles

TLDR

Artificial muscles are flexible actuators that can match or exceed natural muscle capabilities and are widely used as alternatives to rigid electromagnetic motors, with ongoing research focused on rapid design and low‑cost fabrication for customized performance. The study proposes a fluidic artificial muscle architecture that achieves an unprecedented performance‑to‑cost ratio. The architecture employs fluid‑driven origami‑inspired structures to enable efficient, low‑cost actuation. The resulting muscles can be programmed for single or complex multiaxial contractions, controllable multi‑degree‑of‑freedom motion, and can be fabricated from diverse materials and processes to provide additional functions beyond basic actuation.

Abstract

Significance Artificial muscles are flexible actuators with capabilities similar to, or even beyond, natural muscles. They have been widely used in many applications as alternatives to more traditional rigid electromagnetic motors. Numerous studies focus on rapid design and low-cost fabrication of artificial muscles with customized performances. Here, we present an architecture for fluidic artificial muscles with unprecedented performance-to-cost ratio. These artificial muscles can be programed to produce not only a single contraction but also complex multiaxial actuation, and even controllable motion with multiple degrees of freedom. Moreover, a wide variety of materials and fabrication processes can be used to build the artificial muscles with other functions beyond basic actuation.