The major advantages of this manipulator are related to cost and versatility: it is made of cheap materials (silicone and off-the-shelf thread) and can be powered with a small electric battery. In contrast, similar actuators that can be powered electrically use more expensive materials (e.g. shape memory alloys); and on the other end, the other lowest-cost way of producing this type of motion requires compressed air as a power source (e.g. PneuNets). Significantly, it is much more difficult to produce a pneumatic part on a similarly small scale, while the manipulator we have developed can still be scaled down.
However, this manipulator certainly falls short in certain areas. Even with the final prototype we developed, the danger remains of burning out the muscles if current runs for too much time, which limits its range of motion. Additionally, a relatively high current is required to produce significant motion (around 1 or 2 amperes) which may exceed the capabilities of a chosen battery.
Moving forward, the goal is to produce increasingly complex systems to demonstrate specific capabilities of the technology, including methods of sensing and control. This may involve embedding a greater number of muscles in a similar manipulator to diversify its range of motion, or possibly developing a fully functional robot based on the manipulator's technology.