Soft (Artificial) Muscles for Conservation

Soft (Artificial) Muscles for Conservation

Soft (Artificial) Muscles for Conservation

Soft (Artificial) Muscles for Conservation

Many years ago, long before I came to Defenders, my coworker Joe “The Pirate” was weighing in on how he wasn’t terribly concerned if I fell from the scaffolding we were working from. That wasn’t much comfort at the time, but there is some truth to what Joe said: bouncing off unforeseen challenges is a healthy thing because if we’re rigid and set in our ways (or have aging bones), we’re more likely to break. It was with Joe’s “advice” in mind that I read the title of a new paper out in the journal Nature: Controlled flight of a microrobot powered by soft artificial muscles. And I said, “Ah-ha! I bet this could be of use!” and proceeded to read the paper. And, turns out, it could be! Find out how here.

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Jacob Malcom
Previous Director

As the previous Director in the Center for Conservation Innovation at Defenders, Jacob led CCI’s work at the intersection of science, technology, and policy to improve conservation outcomes, especially for threatened and endangered species.