3 ms·

Right, and that's why the first item on my list are artificial muscles. If we had efficient, pliable, moldable, rugged, strong artificial muscles robotics woul

• jasonwatkinspdx 13y ago
  I'm sure there's significant opportunity to increase efficiency by combined improvement in the structure and control software. Have you tried to learn a balance sport like skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, etc? As a beginner you aren't capable of the prediction/anticipation necessary to position yourself precisely for dynamic stability. You overcome this largely by bracing multiple muscles against each other. But once you practice enough that your brain understands and anticipates, everything suddenly feels much more effortless. A beginning snowboarder will burn through to muscle fatigue limits in just a couple hours on the bunny hill. An experience snowboarder can ride the steeps all day with only mild fatigue. Sure, there's likely to be a difference in physical conditioning too, but in my experience that's a lessor factor than simply knowing/feeling how to move the minimum amount at the precisely right moment. So while a revolutionary advance in artificial muscles would be grand, I think there still may be significant opportunities with existing actuators.