Fiber pumps: the self-pumping tubes for future fluidics

Researchers at EPFL LMTS and Politecnico di Bari have developed thin, flexible pumps in the form of fibers. In essence, tubing that generates its own pressure and flowrate. This allows high pressure fluidic circuits to be sewn directly into textiles and clothing without the need for an external pump. In the future, these pumps could be used to power artificial muscles for soft supportive exosuits, or for wearable heat management systems. The work was published in Science in March 2023. Read the paper here: More information here: More fiber pump videos here: This work was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation: Video produced by: Erika Valicka and Michael Smith Video footage from: Michael Smith, Robert Hennig and Adobe Stock