Artificial Muscles That Remember
From: IEEE Spectrum - 12/11/2014
By: Neil Savage

Smart polymers already exist. One simple type is an ionic electroactive
polymer, a kind of artificial muscle. Place two electrodes on certain
dielectric materials and turn on the voltage, and the electrodes will attract
each other, deforming the polymer. These can be used as soft actuators for
manipulating fragile objects, perhaps placing a stent or steering a catheter
through a small space in the body. Or, they could form the basis of an
artificial muscle in a robot or a prosthetic limb.

Read the entire article and view a video (0:30) at:
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/robotics/robotics-hardware/artificial-muscles-that-remember

Related:
Fishing Line Makes for Superhuman Artificial Muscles
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/robotics/robotics-hardware/fishing-line-makes-superhuman-artificial-muscles