MIT engineers have come up with a new gadget that could give robots power using real muscles. Muscles pack a punch and work well for their size, which makes them a great way to move robots. The team built a spring-like frame called a “flexure,” that works like a skeleton to get the most out of muscle movements. This gadget helps robots make better use of muscle tissue letting them move in a precise and controlled way.

Using muscles in robots has been tricky because they’re hard to predict. Old designs stuck muscles between bendy posts, but these setups didn’t move much. The new flexure design points the force from muscle contractions in one direction, which leads to more reliable and effective movement. This breakthrough makes muscle-powered robots work better, so they can do more kinds of jobs.

This breakthrough has exciting uses in areas like medical robotics. The flexure gadget could help build small accurate robots that can do sensitive operations inside the body. Also, it gives us a way to examine muscle stamina and tiredness, which helps us better grasp how muscles work. By tapping into the raw strength of muscles, this tech might pave the way for the next wave of strong and flexible robots.