Biological Mechanisms as Models for Mimicking: Sarcomere Design, Arrangement and Muscle Function - Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies - page 53

2.7 SUMMARY

In recent years, material scientists have developed polymer materials that can be used to develop
artificial muscles. To facilitate robotic and prosthetic design, such artificial muscles should be
multi-functional, robust, modular, and have the capacity to repair themselves in response to
damage. It has been argued that studying the working principles of biological muscle may inspire
the design of artificial muscles. This chapter gives an overview of the relationship between muscle
form and function, with an emphasis on the sarcomeric design of muscle. The following issues were
addressed: (1) muscles are multi-functional actuators; (2) contractile proteins are organized in
functional units called sarcomeres; (3) muscle function is modified in two basic ways — (a)
modifying the sarcomere design and (b) rearranging the sarcomeres; and (4) muscle adaptation in
response to functional demands. The chapter ends with a discussion on how the sarcomeric design
of muscle can provide inspiration for the design of artificial muscles.

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