Update: Robot arm loses to human (here).

Six years ago, Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen, a physicist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) issued a unique challenge: build a robotic arm using artificial muscles that could arm wrestle a human. The results of that challenge will be determined next week, when three such robotic arms will "step into the ring" to compete against a 17- year-old high school student. The ultimate goal is to win against the strongest human on Earth.

An artist's concept of electroactive polymers (Courtesy: NASA)The goal originally was to jump-start research in electroactive polymers, also known as artificial muscles. If the robotic arm wins, it will open doors for many engineering technologies in medicine, military defense and even entertainment. Electroactive polymers are simple, lightweight strips of highly flexible plastic that bend or stretch when put into contact with chemicals or electricity. They are quiet and shatterproof and can be used to imitate human muscle movements.
The three artificial arms and their teams come from around the world. Researchers from New Mexico and Switzerland built arms made of plastics and polymers. A group of students from Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia will also test their arm invention made of gel fibers and electrochemical cells.
For more information about the competition, visit here.