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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Uchiyama, Katsu, Niiyama, Ryuma
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20322
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author Uchiyama, Katsu
Niiyama, Ryuma
author_facet Uchiyama, Katsu
Niiyama, Ryuma
contents Exploration of various applications is the frontier of research on inflatable robots. We proposed an articulated robots consisting of multiple pneumatic bladder links connected by rolling contact joints called Hillberry joints. The bladder link is made of a double-layered structure of tarpaulin sheet and polyurethane sheet, which is both airtight and flexible in shape. The integration of the Hilberry joint into an inflatable robot is also a new approach. The rolling contact joint allows wide range of motion of $\pm 150 ^{\circ}$, the largest among the conventional inflatable joints. Using the proposed mechanism for inflatable robots, we demonstrated moving a 500 g payload with a 3-DoF arm and lifting 3.4 kg and 5 kg payloads with 2-DoF and 1-DoF arms, respectively. We also experimented with a single 3-DoF inflatable leg attached to a dolly to show that the proposed structure worked for legged locomotion.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_20322
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Pneumatic bladder links with wide range of motion joints for articulated inflatable robots
Uchiyama, Katsu
Niiyama, Ryuma
Robotics
Exploration of various applications is the frontier of research on inflatable robots. We proposed an articulated robots consisting of multiple pneumatic bladder links connected by rolling contact joints called Hillberry joints. The bladder link is made of a double-layered structure of tarpaulin sheet and polyurethane sheet, which is both airtight and flexible in shape. The integration of the Hilberry joint into an inflatable robot is also a new approach. The rolling contact joint allows wide range of motion of $\pm 150 ^{\circ}$, the largest among the conventional inflatable joints. Using the proposed mechanism for inflatable robots, we demonstrated moving a 500 g payload with a 3-DoF arm and lifting 3.4 kg and 5 kg payloads with 2-DoF and 1-DoF arms, respectively. We also experimented with a single 3-DoF inflatable leg attached to a dolly to show that the proposed structure worked for legged locomotion.
title Pneumatic bladder links with wide range of motion joints for articulated inflatable robots
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.20322