Spider-Man Like Power: Artificial Muscle Lifts 165 Times Its Weight

A 3D rendering of molybdenum disulphide, used by Rutgers scientists to create a powerful new actuator – devices that work like muscles.

Photo: Shutterstock/ogwen

The Rutgers discovery – elegantly called an “inverted-series-connected (ISC) biomorph actuation device” – is described in a study published online today in the journal Nature.

“We found that by applying a small amount of voltage, the device can lift something that’s far heavier than itself,” said Manish Chhowalla, professor and associate chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering in the School of Engineering. “This is an important finding in the field of electrochemical actuators. The simple restacking of atomically thin sheets of metallic MoS2 leads to actuators that can withstand stresses and strains comparable to or greater than other actuator materials.”

Actuators are used in a wide variety of electromechanical systems and in robotics. They have applications such as steerable catheters, aircraft wings that adapt to changing conditions and wind turbines that reduce drag, the study notes.

This tiny Rutgers creation – 3 micrometers thick (far thinner than a human hair), 0.5 centimeters wide and 6 centimeters (about 2.4 inches) long – rolls up when voltage is applied. 

The discovery at Rutgers University-New Brunswick was made by Muharrem Acerce, study lead author and a doctoral student in Chhowalla’s group, with help from E. Koray Akdoğan, teaching assistant professor in Department of Materials Science and Engineering, said Chhowalla, senior author of the study.

This shows very thin sheets of molybdenum disulfide (see a), a schematic and photos of working actuators.

Photo: Muharrem Acerce