Skip to main content

Astonishing artificial muscle can lift 12,600 times its own body weight

Super-strong artificial muscles developed at Illinois

Anyone who has ever done body-weight exercises knows that pull-ups are pretty tough. Possibly not for a new artificial muscle developed by researchers from the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois, though. The new muscle, which could one day be used for augmenting the strength of robots, is capable of lifting up to 12,600 times its own weight. That’s significantly better than some of the previous artificial muscle projects we’ve covered. Add in a leather jacket and Austrian accent, and we’re basically on track to create The Terminator.

Recommended Videos

“Currently, electric motors are used in everyday technologies,” Caterina Lamuta, one of the researchers on the project, told Digital Trends. “Motors are a very well-developed technology, yet they are heavy and bulky. We develop artificial muscles: these are electrically driven actuators that look like muscle fibers. They are simple and monolithic, have no moving parts, and don’t produce any noise. [For this project,] we developed a novel type of artificial muscles made of a bundle of carbon fibers, embedded into a silicone rubber matrix.”

This composite material is tightly twisted until a spontaneous coiling is obtained. The contraction of the composite coiled yarn can be induced by heating it or adding an electric current, or else swelling by solvent absorption. The performance of these carbon fibers-based muscles is particularly impressive. Not only can they lift the aforementioned 12,600 times their own weight, but they can also support up to 60 MPa of mechanical stress, and contract 25 percent of their initial length.

Compared to natural skeletal muscles, they provide 18 times higher work for the same weight. With just 0.172 V/cm of applied voltage, the authors demonstrated how a 0.4 mm diameter muscle bundle could lift half a gallon of water.

“These super-strong and lightweight muscles can be used for several applications, ranging from robotics and prosthetic and human assistive devices,” Professor Sameh Tawfic, who also worked on the project, told us. “The key is that they are made from light and commercially available materials, and they are actuated by [only a] small voltage.”

A paper describing the work, titled “Theory of the tensile actuation of fiber reinforced coiled muscles,” was recently published in the journal Smart Materials and Structures.

Luke Dormehl
I'm a UK-based tech writer covering Cool Tech at Digital Trends. I've also written for Fast Company, Wired, the Guardian…
Zoox recalls robotaxis after Las Vegas crash, citing software fix
zoox recall crash 1739252352 robotaxi side profile in dark mode

Amazon's self-driving vehicle unit, Zoox, has issued a voluntary safety recall after one of its autonomous vehicles was involved in a minor collision in Las Vegas. The incident, which occurred in April 2025, led the company to investigate and identify a software issue affecting how the robotaxi anticipates another vehicle’s path.
The recall, affecting 270 Zoox-built vehicles, was formally filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Zoox said the issue has already been addressed through a software update that was remotely deployed to its fleet.
Zoox’s robotaxis, which operate without driving controls like a steering wheel or pedals, are part of Amazon’s entry into the autonomous driving space. According to Zoox’s safety recall report, the vehicle failed to yield to oncoming traffic while making an unprotected left turn, leading to a low-speed collision with a regular passenger car. While damage was minor, the event raised flags about the system’s behavior in complex urban scenarios.
Establishing safety and reliability remain key factors in the deployment of the relatively new autonomous ride-hailing technology. Alphabet-owned Waymo continues to lead the sector in both safety and operational scale, with services active in multiple cities including Phoenix and San Francisco. But GM’s Cruise and Ford/VW-backed Argo AI were forced to abandon operations over the past few years.
Tesla is also expected to enter the robotaxi race with the launch of its own service in June 2025, leveraging its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software. While FSD has faced heavy regulatory scrutiny through last year, safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration.
Zoox, which Amazon acquired in 2020, says it issued the recall voluntarily as part of its commitment to safety. “It’s essential that we remain transparent about our processes and the collective decisions we make,” the company said in a statement.

Read more
Mitsubishi’s back in the EV game—with a new electric SUV coming in 2026
mitsubishi bev 2026 momentum 2030 line up

Mitsubishi is officially jumping back into the U.S. electric vehicle scene—and this time, it’s not just dipping a toe. The company confirmed it will launch a brand-new battery-electric SUV in North America starting in summer 2026, marking its first fully electric model here since the quirky little i-MiEV left the stage back in 2017.
The new EV will be a compact crossover, and while Mitsubishi is keeping most of the juicy details under wraps, we do know it’ll be based on the same next-gen platform as the upcoming Nissan Leaf. That means it’ll ride on the CMF-EV architecture—the same one underpinning the Nissan Ariya—which supports ranges of up to 300+ miles. So yeah, this won’t be your average entry-level EV.
Designed in partnership with Nissan, the new model will be built in Japan and shipped over to U.S. shores. No word yet on pricing, battery size, or even a name, but Mitsubishi has made it clear this EV is just the beginning. As part of its “Momentum 2030” plan, the company promises a new or updated vehicle every year through the end of the decade, with four electric models rolling out by 2028. And yes, one of those might even be a pickup.
Mitsubishi says the goal is to give customers “flexible powertrain options,” which is marketing speak for: “We’ll have something for everyone.” So whether you're all-in on electric or still into gas or hybrid power, they're aiming to have you covered.
This mystery EV will eventually sit alongside Mitsubishi’s current U.S. lineup—the Outlander, Outlander PHEV, Eclipse Cross, and Outlander Sport—and help the brand move beyond its current under-the-radar status in the electric world.
In short: Mitsubishi’s finally getting serious about EVs, and if this new SUV lives up to its potential, it might just put the brand back on your radar.

Read more
Toyota unveils 2026 bZ: A smarter, longer-range electric SUV
toyota bz improved bz4x 2026 0007 1500x1125

Toyota is back in the electric SUV game with the 2026 bZ, a major refresh of its bZ4X that finally delivers on two of the biggest demands from EV drivers: more range and faster charging.
The headline news is the improved driving range. Toyota now estimates up to 314 miles on a single charge for the front-wheel-drive model with the larger 74.7-kWh battery—about 60 miles more than the outgoing bZ4X. All-wheel-drive variants also get a boost, with up to 288 miles of range depending on trim.
Charging speeds haven’t increased in terms of raw kilowatts (still capped at 150 kW for DC fast charging), but Toyota has significantly improved how long peak speeds are sustained. With preconditioning enabled—especially helpful in colder weather—the new bZ can charge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes. Also new: Plug and Charge support for automatic payment at compatible stations and full adoption of the North American Charging Standard (NACS), meaning access to Tesla Superchargers will be standard by 2026.
Under the hood, or rather the floor, Toyota has swapped in higher-performance silicon carbide components to improve efficiency and power delivery. The AWD version now produces up to 338 horsepower and sprints from 0–60 mph in a brisk 4.9 seconds.
Toyota didn’t stop at just the powertrain. The exterior has been cleaned up, with body-colored wheel arches replacing the black cladding, and a sleeker front fascia. Inside, a larger 14-inch touchscreen now houses climate controls, giving the dash a more refined and less cluttered appearance. There’s also more usable storage thanks to a redesigned center console.
With the 2026 bZ, Toyota seems to be responding directly to critiques of the bZ4X. It’s faster, more efficient, and more driver-friendly—finally bringing Toyota’s EV efforts up to speed.

Read more