The super-coiled polymer is one of the newest artificial muscle actuator classes. Taking advantage of a twisted thread, like the TSA, and the use of thermal expansion, like the SMA, they are a relatively recent advancement in artificial muscle research and show great promise for future biomimetic and wearable applications.

Super-coiled polymers rely on threads coated by conductive metal, which can be purchased online. Turning these threads into a workable actuator, however, is a bit more complicated, and explained by our guide here.

Left: Our SCP design in action, March 2021