VIDEO: 3D PRINTED SYNTHETIC MUSCLES ARE STRONGER THAN YOU!

Mechanical engineers from Columbia Unversity have developed a synthetic soft muscle that is said to be much more simple to make and run than others, and it is three times stronger than the real thing. 

The system developed by the Columbia team is based on a natural muscle. It is made of silicone rubber matrix pocked with micro-bubbles of ethanol, giving the material low density and high elasticity. It can be 3D printed into whatever shape is needed, then electrically actuated thanks to a thin resistive wire embedded inside. Altogether, it can be made easily, cheaply and safely. During the test phase of the artificial muscle, it was able to expand up to 900% when it was heated to 80 degrees Celsius, by running 8 volts through the wire. That gives it a strain density (expansion per gram) that's 15 times better than natural muscle, allowing it to lift 1,000 times its own weight.

The next steps for the team include replacing the wires inside the muscle with embedded conductive materials instead and improving the response time and shelf life of the muscle. 

Have a look at the video to see how the artificial muscle works. You can read more about the research in the Nature Communications journal.