On March 7, 17-year-old high-school student Panna Felsen squared off against three stalwart competitors in the first-ever human-robot arm-wrestling match. Each of the robots was powered by a distinct variety of electroactive polymer, also known as artificial muscle. The contenders varied in size and shape, and their creators’ budgets ranged from $800 to roughly $250,000.

The competition was designed to promote the development of materials that could someday animate prosthetic limbs, shape-shifting airplane wings and a host of other devices.

In the annals of organized arm wrestling, there had never been a match like this. Ever since 1952, when the first official arm-wrestling competition took place at Gilardi´s Saloon in Petaluma, California, contestants have generally been large men with unusually muscular forearms. But on this Monday afternoon, the TV cameras focus on a slim 17-year-old girl.