00:03This is, as you might have guessed, a robotic leg, one currently in development by engineers
00:08at ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Intelligence Systems. However, it's not using
00:14actuators, cogs, or other conventional robotics to move, but rather artificial muscles. The
00:19researchers are calling them electrohydraulics, which use oil-filled plastic bags with conductive
00:24electrodes on either side. Here's one of the researchers, Thomas Buckner, to explain.
00:27And now, when we activate these muscles, the so-called electrohydraulic actuator sips together,
00:34which means the electrodes come closer and push the oil to the other side of the actuator.
00:40This leads to a contraction and thickening of the muscle, similar to a human muscle.
00:46They add that this type of system also has an antagonistic pairing, similar to the bicep
00:51and tricep in your arm.
00:52They work against each other if the biceps contracts, the triceps stretches, and the
00:57other way around, the biceps stretches when the triceps contracts.
01:01Which they say means the system becomes much more energy efficient and more nimble than
01:04traditional motor-driven robotics. This type of robot is also more adaptive to uneven terrain,
01:10letting it respond without the need for sensors to constantly apply corrections to its movement.
01:14With the team adding that this could one day be used for rescue operations in areas inhospitable
01:19for human rescuers.
