Testing

This section describes the results of the testings. To verify the performance of the prototype system, a few experiments were pursued. First of all, basic performances of the pump and McKibben actuators were measured. Second, installing the system in the swing robot, it was confirmed that the design worked as intended. Finally, the swing robot was operational.

Back to the goal of the project, the team accomplished building a tether-less hydraulic system using alcohol as the working fluid. The results of performance tests suggest that the flow inside of the actuation system is powerful and controllable accurately. Though the prototype is small enough to install in the swing robot, there remains room for improvement in terms of the size. It is significant that we can introduce this method to make tether-less hydraulic systems using basic prototyping tools.

Original goals

  • Small enough to install into robots
  • Using batteries, no external equipment
  • Powerful with controllable flow 
  • Easy to fabricate
  • Clean: Using alcohol instead of oil