Giving bug-like bots a boost: A new fabrication technique produces low-voltage, power-dense artificial muscles that improve the performance of flying microrobots.

MIT researchers have demonstrated diminutive drones that can zip around with bug-like agility and resilience, which could eventually perform these tasks. The soft actuators that propel these microrobots are very durable, but they require much higher voltages than similarly-sized rigid actuators. The featherweight robots can't carry the necessary power electronics that would allow them fly on their own. Now, these researchers have pioneered a fabrication technique that enables them to build soft actuators that operate with 75 percent lower voltage than current versions while carrying 80 percent more payload. These soft actuators are like artificial muscles that rapidly flap the robot's wings.