This paper presents a cable-driven hydraulic actuator named Cable Rod Hydraulic Actuator (CRHA). The cable actuating system is attractive for designing a compact joint in robotic applications since it can be installed remotely from the joint. Recently, cable rods have been used in pneumatic area for inertia reduction. However, designing cable rods in hydraulics is challenging because it is difficult to achieve flexibility and endurance simultaneously under high pressure conditions. In this paper, the cable rod, which consists of a cable and jacket, is proposed to meet both requirements. To design the CRHA, we determined the design parameters, such as cylinder size, and selected the cable rod’s material by friction and leakage test. Finally, comparisons experiments about step and frequency responses with conventional hydraulic actuators were performed to assess feasibility for robotic joints, and the results show that the proposed system has good bandwidth and fast response as robotic joints.
