**10. Conclusions**

The future of robotics will require more and more inherent compliance. Inherent compliance can only be achieved by integrating elastic elements in the drive chain of a robotic system. Flexible Fluidic Actuators can be an appropriate solution for this problem. FFAs exhibit inherent compliance no matter if they are operated pneumatically or hydraulically. A big advantage is that FFAs do not require any transmission elements to create a rotary motion. The high torque-to-weight ratio make them suitable drives for robotics, prosthetics, orthotics, and general automation tasks. The modularity allows easy implementation of various kinematics, either for grippers and/or arms. The fluidic operation principle also make FFAs a very promising drive system for under water and deep sea operation. The challenges regarding fabrication and fatigue resistance of FFAs have been solved. The modeling and control approaches are very promising and the required control infrastructure will definitely shrink with future valve technologies and high-performance micro controllers.
