Abstract:

This is a joint project between the University of Adelaide and Flinders University, both of which are based in South Australia (SA), Australia. We initiated the project with a South Australian Government funding grant in 2009 to develop a high-precision six degree of freedom (6 DOF) test robot for biomechanical research as shown in Figure 1. This initial platform was completed and fully functional within two years of commencement. The project won two awards for engineering excellence from the SA Division of Engineers Australia and was nominated for the Engineers Australia National Award. In 2014, the two universities jointly secured an Australian Research Council Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Grant ($400k) with the objective of developing two large, complementary hydraulic-driven robotic test systems with a loading capacity of 4 tonnes for 3D dynamic test. These large-scale platforms were developed based on the same control systems concepts used on the smaller biomechanics platform. Both robotic test systems have been commissioned and are being configured for their designated research applications.