A domestic research team has developed the world's first next-generation artificial muscle that can change shape in real time, repair itself when damaged, and even be reused.
The College of Engineering at Seoul National University said on the 25th that a joint team led by Professor Seon Jeong-yoon of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Kim Ho-young of the Department of Mechanical Engineering developed artificial muscles using a "phase-transition magnetic fluid" that exists as a solid at room temperature but becomes as flexible and free-moving as a liquid when an external stimulus is applied.
A dielectric elastomer actuator (DEA) is a soft transducer that converts electrical energy into mechanical motion, and it is also called an artificial muscle because it can move as fast and precisely as human muscle. However, conventional artificial muscles had a limitation in that, once the electrodes were designed and printed, their shapes became permanently fixed, allowing them to perform only the single motion initially designed.
To solve this problem, the team developed a next-generation soft gel actuator that changes the electrode shape in real time as needed to perform new functions and repairs itself even if torn or electrically shorted. The newly developed phase-transition magnetic fluid-based electrode allows dynamic reconfiguration that splits into and merges from three-dimensional structures as needed.
Professor Seon Jeong-yoon said, "This study transformed static and passive electrodes into a 'living, moving programming element' through materials engineering innovations in particle and polymer design," adding, "Self-healing, shape-morphing robotic electrode technology will become the backbone of next-generation soft Robotics."
References
Science Advances (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb7409