Hardware7 hOctober 7, 2026, 21:20

EPFL's threadlike motor drives flexible robots with sliding fibers, no gears

Researchers at EPFL's Soft Transducers Laboratory have built a threadlike motor that uses sliding fibers instead of gears to drive flexible robotic devices. It builds on the lab's 2023 fiber pump that can be sewn into smart textiles.

Tech Xplore

Open source

Motor is a flexible thread with no gears or rigid parts
Actuation relies on fibers sliding against each other
Builds on EPFL's 2023 fiber pump for smart textiles
Targets flexible robots and wearable assistive devices

#EPFL

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EPFL's threadlike motor drives flexible robots with sliding fibers, no gears

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