Designing Robotic Joints For Concept Artists

A long time ago I heard a quote from a concept designer about designing robots: “Once you’ve designed which type of joints go where, the rest of the design process is just window dressing“. And there is some truth to that. After deciding what the robot’s purpose is, the next most important thing is deciding how its going to move to achieve that purpose. And to do that requires joints. Many robot designs use “magic joints“ that seem to always be able to bend in any direction you want, but to truly make a believable robot, you need to at least know how real robot joints work before you go off and make something more fanciful. So this lesson is a quick discussion of the major joints you’ll find in actual robots, and then a few examples of more complex joints to spice up your design. For more info and other lessons, please visit