Elysium Robotics has made a significant breakthrough in the field of robotics by developing artificial muscles designed for high-dexterity applications such as humanoid robots and prosthetics. Co-founder Mark Hammond announced that these innovative actuators could enable the production of a low-cost, highly functional robotic hand. Utilizing their technology, a 27 degree-of-freedom hand can be constructed for under $1,000, making advanced robotics more accessible.
The core of Elysium's innovation lies in their soft robotic dielectric elastomer actuator, which can be mass-produced at a low cost. These actuators mimic human muscle performance and footprint. By applying voltage across the fibers, the tension can be modulated, allowing control over size and strength similar to human muscles. This technology addresses several limitations faced by current actuators, which are often bulky, costly, and inefficient.
Hammond, alongside CEO and co-founder Rodrigo Alvarez-Icaza, emphasized the potential of humanoid robots to automate manual tasks. Despite their promise, humanoid robots have struggled to progress beyond the concept phase, primarily due to the significant gap between human capability and humanoid performance. While single-purpose collaborative robots, cobot,) are widely adopted in industrial settings, the versatility of general-purpose humanoid robotics remains largely untapped.
Existing actuation technologies, such as motors, are adequate for some applications but fall short in niche areas like prosthetics and robotics. These technologies are often plagued by issues such as high costs, excessive weight, bulkiness, inefficient battery use, and noise. Elysium's dielectric elastomer actuators, on the other hand, offer a promising alternative. Known as artificial muscles since their inception in the 1990s, DEAs are valued for their elastic nature, electrical activation, high actuation speeds, and high work densities, closely resembling human skeletal muscles.
Dielectric elastomers have traditionally been explored in the form of thin films, but these do not generate forces comparable to human muscles without complex fabrication processes. Elysium's innovation lies in creating fiber-shaped DEAs that more closely mimic skeletal muscles and enable novel structures. This approach allows for the production of muscle-like actuators without the need for motors, gearboxes, or other moving parts.
Elysium's fibers are controlled through a voltage differential, making them extremely precise and easy to control. The company has outlined several performance characteristics of their actuators:
- ustomizable Sizes: Scalable from single fibers to thousands.
- Lightweight: 50% lighter than servo motors.
- Form Factor: Natural form factor comparable to human muscle, avoiding the bulkiness of motors and transmissions.
- Low Power and Low Thermal Footprint: Lower holding power than servos with 40% efficiency and no holding current.
- Cost: Less than 10% of a comparable servo motor.
- Speed: Activation time of 50 milliseconds.
- Robustness: Can stretch without breaking.
- Safety: Food grade and intrinsically compliant.
- Accuracy: Within 1% intrinsic hysteresis.
- Noise: 0 dB, no noise.
- Strength: 150 kPa, or about 21.8 pounds of force per square inch.
- Reliability: Greater than 5 million cycles.
- Controllability: Smooth movement.
These advancements position Elysium Robotics at the forefront of developing efficient, powerful, and lightweight actuation technologies. Their artificial muscles have the potential to revolutionize the fields of humanoid robotics and prosthetics, bridging the gap between human capability and robotic performance. As the company continues to refine and scale their technology, the future of high-dexterity applications looks promising, with more accessible and versatile solutions on the horizon.
