Whether it is managing childcare, operating on a patient or cooking a Sunday dinner, there are many occasions when an extra pair of arms would come in, well, handy. Now researchers say such human augmentation could be on the horizon, suggesting additional robotic body parts could be designed to boost our capabilities. Tamar Makin, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the MRC cognition and brain unit at Cambridge University, said the approach could increase productivity. "If you want an extra arm while you're cooking in the kitchen so you can stir the soup while chopping the vegetables, you might have the option to wear and independently control an extra robotic arm," she said. The approach has precedence: Dani Clode, a designer and colleague of Makin's at Cambridge University, has already created a 3D-printed thumb that can be added to any hand.

Three independent groups of researchers have designed powerful artificial muscles that are around 100 times stronger than ours. The synthetic muscles are are designed around coiled or coiling fibres that can stretch and contract just like their natural counterparts. The muscle designs could have various applications -- from developing smart clothing that changes in response to the weather, to prosthetic limbs and robots. Three independent groups of researchers have designed powerful artificial muscles that are around 100 times stronger than ours. The same basic principle underpins the brawny robots developed by each research team -- that coiled materials can stretch just like natural muscles.