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EPFL engineers have built FiberMotor, a 1–3 mm-wide flexible linear motor made from two sliding hollow fibers. The prototype moves silently in both directions and can be arranged in fabric, but it is still a laboratory technology rather than a product you can buy.
How the FiberMotor works
Each actuator contains two concentric hollow fibers. Insulated copper-wire electrodes are wound around both fibers. When a voltage is applied, electrostatic forces repeatedly pull the fibers into alignment. That alignment makes the inner fiber slide inside the outer fiber, producing telescoping linear motion.
The motor does not use gears, screws or a separate transmission. It is flexible, bidirectional and backdriveable: an opposing force can slide the fibers instead of locking the mechanism. That characteristic is useful in clothing, where the actuator must yield naturally when a wearer moves or an external force is applied.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallEPFL’s Soft Transducers Laboratory describes FiberMotor as the first sliding motor built in a fiber format. Unlike an artificial muscle that has a limited contraction or extension percentage, its travel is mainly determined by how long the fibers are made. Designers can therefore obtain a longer stroke by using longer fibers, although the practical force, packaging and control requirements still depend on the complete assembly.
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What the prototype has demonstrated
EPFL reported the following demonstrations in 2026:
| Demonstration | Reported result | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Single FiberMotor | About 75 grams of stationary load per motor | The holding force of one laboratory actuator |
| Four FiberMotors bundled together | Lifted a 46-gram chocolate bar | Force can be combined by using multiple fibers |
| Four-motor bundle | Flexed a tendon-driven robotic finger | Suitability for a small soft-robotic mechanism |
| Garment prototype | One motor integrated into a knee-shaped garment | Feasibility of placing the actuator in a wearable form |
These are controlled laboratory demonstrations, not a rating for a finished garment, prosthesis or medical device. The reported load is a stationary figure; it does not establish how much weight a motor can repeatedly lift while a person walks, how efficiently it operates, or how long it survives washing and daily wear.
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Why a textile motor matters
Many everyday assistance tasks—raising a limb, tightening a strap or pulling a joint-supporting tendon—are fundamentally linear. Conventional linear drives can perform those tasks, but they commonly rely on rigid motors, gears, lead screws or linkages. Those components add hard, heavy sections that are difficult to distribute through clothing.
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FiberMotor offers a different layout: many thin actuators could be spread over a garment, each contributing a modest pull. A distributed arrangement could keep force close to the body area being assisted instead of routing it through one rigid gearbox. The fibers’ flexibility, silent operation and ability to move in either direction are particularly relevant to soft robotics.
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Potential applications
- Soft exosuits: motors could pull textile tendons to assist a wearer’s movement while allowing the garment to flex.
- Wearable haptics: controlled pulls could provide physical cues for virtual-reality interfaces.
- Lightweight prosthetics: multiple actuators could supply movement without concentrating all hardware in a rigid joint.
- Adaptive assistance: position and movement sensors could let a controller adjust the actuation to the wearer’s intent.
Those applications remain proposals. A practical system would also need a power source, high-voltage insulation, compact electronics, sensing, mechanical attachment points and a way to manage heat and moisture.
What still limits clothing integration
EPFL says the team is continuing work on thinner electrodes, improved materials, performance and durability. Those areas will determine whether the motor can move from a carefully assembled prototype to a textile component that tolerates bending, sweat, impacts and repeated laundering.
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- Force scaling: one motor’s approximately 75-gram stationary load is modest, so useful assistance may require many synchronized motors.
- Power and control: electrostatic actuation requires a suitable voltage supply and switching electronics; no final garment’s voltage, energy consumption or control architecture has been published.
- Durability: no service life, cycle count or washability rating has been published.
- Safety: a wearable product would need robust insulation, fault protection and limits on force and motion.
- Manufacturing: winding electrodes around hollow fibers and connecting large numbers of fibers must be made repeatable and economical.
How it compares with EPFL’s earlier fiber pumps
FiberMotor follows EPFL’s fiber-pump work published in Science in 2023. The earlier devices are roughly 2 mm in diameter and use charge-injection electrohydrodynamics to move a dielectric liquid. EPFL reported that one meter of pump can produce about 1 atmosphere (100 kPa) of pressure, exceed 50 ml/min flow and weigh about 1 gram.
Those pumps can be woven or sewn into garments for thermal regulation, haptic temperature effects and fabric-based artificial muscles. The pump work moves fluid; FiberMotor directly creates sliding mechanical motion. Both approaches use thin fiber-format hardware, but their power electronics, output measurements and integration challenges are different.
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Is FiberMotor available to buy?
No consumer product, retail price, accessory, replacement part or production timetable has been stated. FiberMotor is currently a research prototype under development. EPFL identifies Elecsyor, founded by first author Sylvain Schaller, as the startup commercializing the technology, but that does not mean a finished motor or garment is on sale.
Anyone evaluating the technology should distinguish a startup’s commercialization activity from a purchasable, specified product. Availability, force ratings, electrical requirements, durability data and safety certifications would all need confirmation when a commercial version is announced.
What to watch in future announcements
The most meaningful next milestones will be thinner and more durable electrode constructions, quantified cycle-life testing, repeatable textile manufacturing and complete wearable demonstrations. Independent specifications for voltage, power, stroke speed, force under motion, wash resistance and wearer-safety controls will show whether FiberMotor can progress beyond a compelling lab demonstration.
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