Abstract. Results of a study on the design and manufacture of a prototype of an energy-efficient jumping robot with flexible joints using the principles of morphological calculation are presented. Flexible elements allow robots adaptation to the environment during contact interaction, redirecting the interaction energy from the plastic deformation of solids to the elastic deformation of elastic bodies, which contributes to energy recovery in the system. Unlike traditional lower and higher kinematic pairs, flexible joints provide movement of links only in a limited range within the elastic deformation zone. The problem of designing elastic polymer cross joints is solved by the example of a flat leg mechanism of an incomplete jumping robot of closed kinematics, driven by a single servo motor with elastic elements connected in series. When synthesizing such a robot, it is necessary to optimize not only the kinematic parameters of the lever mechanism, but also the topology and elastic-static parameters of the elastic joints themselves.

Keywords: biomimetics, flexible joints, soft robots, numerical optimization, morphological computation

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