MIT's Tangible Media Group, part of MIT Media Lab, has a project called bioLogic that is working on growing actuators rather than manufacturing them:
The roots of their research can be dated back to the past with the discovery of a bacteria Bacillus subtilis natto; the microorganism lived inside dry rice stalks and were in turn woven into bags for soybeans .
This bacteria became an established fermentation tool for the preparation of nattō, a soybean-based dish in Japan.
Now they are using the bacteria in a new way—it becomes a nanoactuator that expands and shrinks based on atmospheric moisture or the sweat of the skin. As Gizmodo wrote, the team was interested in the possibilities: "if natto's expansion and contraction could be carefully calibrated, perhaps it could act more like a machine than an unpredictable organism. Perhaps it could act more like an actuator."
Natto's key feature as a food is a slimy mucus drooled over rice. Perhaps that will be more pleasant to wear than eat.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Monday November 02 2015, @03:44PM
But they don't make it clear what kind of problem they'd solve with one.
So you can make it actuate in the presence of water. What applications does that have that a strictly mechanical actuator managed by electricity couldn't solve?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Tramii on Monday November 02 2015, @06:08PM
But they don't make it clear what kind of problem they'd solve with one.
In the article itself:
Their concept has enabled a human feedback loop; garments come to life once you wear them. An article about their work in ZME Science translates all this into a resulting application: a living suit that literally breathes when exposed to sweat, specifically "a suit that self-regulates in response to humidity (the trigger is sweat) so you can work, dance or explore more comfortably."
What applications does that have that a strictly mechanical actuator managed by electricity couldn't solve?
I'm guessing most people don't want batteries in their clothes.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Monday November 02 2015, @06:15PM
What applications does that have that a strictly mechanical actuator managed by electricity couldn't solve?
In the absence of electricity, all of them!