Researchers engineer light-activated skeletal muscle
Technique may enable robotic animals that move with the strength and flexibility of their living counterparts.
By: Jennifer Chu | Posted 30 August 2012
Technique may enable robotic animals that move with the strength and flexibility of their living counterparts.
Asada and MIT postdoc Mahmut Selman Sakar collaborated with Roger Kamm, the Cecil and Ida Green Distinguished Professor of Biological and Mechanical Engineering, to develop the new approach. In deciding which bodily tissue to use in their robotic design, the researchers set upon skeletal muscle — a stronger, more powerful tissue than cardiac or smooth muscle. But unlike cardiac tissue, which beats involuntarily, skeletal muscles — those involved in running, walking and other physical motions — need external stimuli to flex.”
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