Development of a creeping snake-robot

Abstract

Biological snakes' diverse locomotion modes and physiology make them supremely adapted for environment. The special structure of snakes and their unique movement offer them peculiar ability of climbing and moving even in some ill-conditioned environments such as on the marshland or in narrow tubes. Using these snakes' noticeable features into robots is becoming more important for generating a new type of locomotor and expanding the function of robots. In this paper, we introduce a 12-link snake-like robot, which is moved through the difference between normal and tangential friction. The propelling force of our robot is generated only by swinging its joints from side to side.