New robotic 'muscle' is a thousand times stronger than a human's and capable of hurling an object 50 times heavier than itself

Researchers have developed a robotic muscle, an incredible thousand times more powerful than that of a human and capable of hurling an object 50 times heavier than itself. The breakthrough relies on a material called vanadium dioxide which has a unique ability to change its size, shape and structure when heated. A team at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in U.S. have used vanadium to build a torsional motor which works just like a human muscle, except it is far faster and more powerful.

The vanadium muscle is capable of catapulting extremely heavy objects over five times its own length in just 60 milliseconds.

[link to www.dailymail.co.uk]