Contractile measurement of printable artificial muscles built from biomolecular motors

Abstract

A printable artificial muscle built from biomolecular motors had been proposed and showed great potential in micro-robotics. Based on our previous research, we proposed a stable direct measurement method for the contractile force generated by such artificial muscles. Artificial muscles were photo-patterned in an oil-sealed micro-chamber, and the contractile force was directly measured by a modified micro-force sensing probe. Calibration tests were conducted to ensure the measurement accuracy of the modified sensing probe. The relationship between the contractile force of artificial muscles and the height of artificial muscle solution was evaluated. This improved measurement system can contribute to the further research and application of this artificial muscle.