Robot muscles in a subzero temperature environment

The Stiquito robot is a walking insect-like device that has the ability to carry small payloads, such as sensors and actuators. In an effort to create a Stiquito robot that may one day be used in Mars exploration, many different technologies have to be researched. Flexinol^® wire, which gives the legs of the Stiquito robot muscle-like propulsion, is one of these technologies. An aspect of this technology that will require testing for modification is the effect a subzero environment will have on Flexinol^® wire operations. The purpose of this paper is to show the findings on the effects of subzero temperatures on the Flexinol^® wire.