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Hydraulic Actuation

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  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Robotics

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Synonyms

Hydraulic drives

Definition

Hydraulic actuators are mechanical devices, e.g., hydraulic cylinders and motors, that convert hydraulic power into mechanical power.

Overview

Hydraulic actuators are the preferred choice for certain applications in robotics, thanks to several unique properties, such as:

  • High power-to-weight ratio, leading to lighter robots when large forces or torques are required;

  • Fast valves and high fluid stiffness make it possible to have high closed-loop gains with suitable stability margins;

  • Robust and simple mechanical design, with no need for reductions such as gearboxes and harmonic drives, making them suitable for dynamic applications with impacts.

Despite having such attractive characteristics, it is common to find members of the robotics community that have a prejudice against hydraulic actuators, believing they are dirty, messy, hard to control, and thus unsuitable for robotics. This is, in part, a myth. There are very good examples that show that it...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo, São Carlos, SP, Brazil

    Thiago Boaventura

  2. Dynamic Legged Systems Lab, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy

    Claudio Semini

Authors
  1. Thiago Boaventura
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  2. Claudio Semini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thiago Boaventura .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Marcelo H. Ang

  2. Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Oussama Khatib

  3. Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    Bruno Siciliano

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Mechatronic Components and Systems, Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Muenchener Street 20, 82234, Wessling, Germany

    Markus Grebenstein

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Boaventura, T., Semini, C. (2022). Hydraulic Actuation. In: Ang, M.H., Khatib, O., Siciliano, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Robotics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41610-1_116-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41610-1_116-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-41610-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-41610-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EngineeringReference Module Computer Science and Engineering

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