This Muscular Robot Does the Twist

This article is part of our exclusive IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore.

When creating robots, it can be challenging to achieve the right combination of qualities, which sometimes contradict one another. For example, it’s difficult to make a robot that is both flexible and strong—but not impossible.

In a recent study, researchers created a robot that yields high degrees of flexibility while still maintaining high tension within its “muscles,” giving it sufficient torsional motion to accomplish difficult tasks. In an experiment, the robot was able to remove a…