Led by Professor Bishakh Bhattacharya, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) located in the city of Kanpur, built a bio-inspired artificial muscle for next-generation space robots and medical prostheses.
The product developed at the Smart Materials, Structures, and Systems Lab in the Institute, has many applications, the researchers said. It can be used for adaptive robotic prostheses in the bio-medical industry; for the creation of a new class of space robots which will reinforce Indian Space Technology; and in smart buildings, automobiles, and the aviation industry as well.
The technology comprises fast and efficient actuators that generate mechanical output, such as force and displacement, by transforming electrical energy. The researchers said the shape memory alloy (SMA)-based actuators are a class of smart materials which are light weight and can restore their shape after being exposed to high temperatures. SMAs are also better alternatives to conventional actuators, although they have some limitations in terms of strain range and actuation speed.
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, director, IIT Kanpur said that researchers worked upon those limitations and have developed this unique shape memory alloy-based bio-inspired muscle design that holds the potential to revitalize Space Robotics and bio-medical technology.
The customizable multi-stage hierarchy of the shape memory alloy-based bio-inspired muscle design will encourage researchers in the domain of bio-mechatronics to reduce the cost of bio-medical devices by a third and increase the affordability of high performance systems such as the MRI Scanner, CT scanner and surgical robots.
