A smart hydraulic joint for future implementation in robotic structures

摘要

SUMMARY A hydraulic flexible joint inspired by the actuation system of spiders is investigated in this paper. Its design and characteristics are discussed and a mathematical model is developed to describe its static behaviour. Results of experimental tests are presented to validate its performance. A comparison to other hydraulic actuation systems is performed. The use of the proposed hydraulic flexible joint in adaptive robotic structures is addressed and discussed.