New Type of Artificial Muscle That Can Lift 1000 Times its Own Weight

The researchers 3D printed their actuators, which allowed a wide variety of sizes. They have named the results Geometry-based Actuators that Contract and Elongate (grace).
They tested grace in different circumstances, based mostly on size. They built one actuator, for example, that was just 1 cm across and another one that weighed just 8 grams, added it to a grasper, and found it capable of lifting up to 8 kilograms. They also built a robot hand sized to approximate a human hand using 18 different-sized actuators. Testing showed it capable of bending its fingers, rotating at the wrist and twisting at its palm.