Iron muscles and nerves of steel

Artificial arm uses "smart" wires as muscles

Geektimes, ivansychev based on the materials of the University of Saarland:
Artificial hand able to respond sensitively thanks to muscles made from smart metal wires

Scientists from the Saarland University in Germany have developed an artificial arm using nickel and titanium alloy wires as muscles. To change them, it is necessary to increase or decrease the temperature, and in the absence of exposure, they restore their shape from memory. The same wires can play the role of sensors.

Nickel-titanium alloy nitinol was developed in the 1950s. It is used in medical devices because of "memory" – it remembers the shape and restores it. For example, coronary stents are made of nitinol – structures that are placed in the lumen of hollow organs and provide expansion of the area narrowed by pathology.

The prosthesis, which was developed at the Saarland University, does not have motors, bearings and other mechanical components that are most often used in prostheses. The wires have a predetermined shape, but when electricity passes through them, the hand begins to move. Stopping the current returns the wires to their original position. The technology uses minimal space, which will allow designers to create new prostheses and not be limited to traditional mechanical ones.

Filomena Simone, engineer of the research group led by Professor Stefan Seelecke,
he is working on a prototype of an artificial arm. Photo: Oliver Dietze, University of Saarland – VM.

The "muscles" are able to contract and relax quickly due to the high cooling rate, since many individual wires have a larger area than one thick wire. As a result, scientists have achieved a fast and smooth movement of the fingers.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru31.03.2015