Thursday, July 30, 2009

Festo's fluidic muscles make us all look weak


Yeah, we've seen some pretty fancy robotic arm work already this year, but Festo is out to show 'em all up with its fluidic muscle-packin' Airic's_arm. This robotic prosthesis sports a "bone structure" which mimics that found on a real live human, and can be moved via the 30 "muscles" built within. Essentially, Festo's approach to movement relies on "an elastomer tube reinforced by aramid fibers, which contract quickly and exert a pulling force when they're filled with a blast of compressed air or liquid." Of course, you'll notice it doesn't offer quite the same range as less bionic alternatives, but this thing's pretty accurate, indeed. Check it out for yourself, the video's right down there.

[Via DesignNews]
Read - Festo's Airic's_arm
Read - Video of Airic's_arm in action

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