EPFL builds a 1-3 mm fiber motor that can flex a robotic finger
Swiss researchers made a thin linear motor from two nested polymer fibers. Four bundled motors lifted a 46 g chocolate bar.
Researchers made a motor as thin as a thread. It can bend a small robot finger. It is still a lab project, but it may help future clothing and soft robots.
Hype check
The noise matches the real change.
Our editorial opinion, based on the sources below. How we score
Your call: hype or real?
Real = it will matter in daily use. Hype = louder than it is. One vote, and it can’t be changed.
Our view and readers’ views are opinions, not statements of fact about a product.
Why it matters
Soft, thin motors could one day help in clothing that assists movement, haptics and prosthetics.
Worth a look: a motor as thin as a thread.
The details
- EPFL's Soft Transducers Lab, led by Herbert Shea, describes the FiberMotor in Advanced Materials.
- It uses two nested hollow polymer fibers with copper wire wound around each as an electrode.
- Electric force slides the inner fiber inside the outer one. It has no gears, so it will not lock up.
- One motor holds about 75 g; four bundled motors lifted a 46 g chocolate bar.
- It is 1 to 3 mm wide. Spinoff Elecsyor is working on durability and performance.
Receipts
One trusted outlet reports it. Not confirmed yet. Open the sources and check us.
Written with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources above. How we work
See a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
