Articulated support arm

An articulated supporting arm comprising a first rigid section, a second rigid section, a third rigid section, a first flexible section between the first rigid section and the second rigid section, and a second flexible section between the second rigid section and the third rigid section, the articulated supporting arm being formed by:

• a plurality of flat strips elongated in a longitudinal direction and spanning uninterruptedly from the first rigid section to the third rigid section, each flat strip being flexible and inelastic in the longitudinal direction and having two flat sides parallel to the longitudinal direction and parallel to each other;
• at least one flat side of the flat sides of each of the flat strips is overlapped with, parallel to and in close contact with, at least one flat side of the flat sides of at least one adjacent flat strip;
• each of the flat strips has a first end attached to the first rigid section and a second end opposite the first end, and only one of the flat strips, serving as an anchoring strip, has the second end attached to the third rigid section;
• a compressive covering spanning uninterruptedly from the first rigid section to the third rigid section, compressing the flat strips in a radial direction, pressing the overlapped flat sides together, increasing friction between the overlapped flat sides, and preventing lateral displacement of the flat strips, such that flexural mobility of the first and second flexible sections is limited to a flexural plane perpendicular to the overlapped flat sides;
• and
• a bending of the first flexible section in a first direction is transmittable to the second flexible section through a slip between the flat strips, causing an automatic bending of the second flexible section on the flexural plane in a second direction opposed to the first direction.