Scientists have developed a new type of artificial muscle fibre based on nylon, which could one day render our future robot companions more realistic than ever.

Unlike previous synthetic muscles, this technology is cheap and simple to produce, which makes it a better option if we want our droids to be able to flex, move, and repair themselves in much the same way as flesh-and-blood people.

Robot muscles based around nylon have been tried before, but researchers at MIT have developed a new technique to shape and heat the fibres, giving the artifical muscles greater scope to bend and contract.

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