Electroactive Polymer's not ready for WCA

From Wired News:

SAN DIEGO -- Six years ago, Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Yoseph Bar-Cohen challenged scientists to create an artificial arm that could beat a human in an arm-wrestling match. The catch: The arm must be made of a pliable plastic material controlled by electrical impulses. In other words, no motors allowed.

Monday, in front of a battalion of TV cameras and an audience of hundreds, three groups of scientists took on Bar-Cohen's challenge -- and failed. One of the robot arms seemed to flop helplessly, while the other two quickly fell to a 17-year-old high-school student.....Read More

The Human contestant was 17 year old Panna Felson who appears to be headed for a career in engineering rather than arm wrestling.

More on the match from JPL

Here is an article from the instigator of the competition, Dr. Yoseph Bar-Cohen written prior to the match discussing the development of EAP's and their potential uses