Hydraulic manipulator is a key component in tasks requiring waterproof such as disaster management and offshore plant construction. HYDRA-UW series is a robot arm to remotely operate underwater and a deep-sea version of the arm designed to attach to a Work Class ROV is under development.

The current 7DOF hydraulic robot arm (HYDRA-UW3+) is a heavy-load manipulator (full reach lift 124kgf, maximum lift 300kgf) that can operate 500msw underwater. UW3+ is continuously enhancing in reliability through performance and durability tests, aiming to work in 2500msw environment.

Unlike the previous models, all of the external hydraulic hoses have been integrated directly into the inner frames of the robot, increasing the manipulability and hydraulic stiffness by minimizing the fluid elasticity from the hoses. Also, high-pressure resistive hydraulic servo-valves, low-level controller (HAC), and kinematics solver (LCU) are included in the system.

Further research and development of highly reliable robot arms for tasks in extreme environments will be continued and applications in various fields are expected.