Serpentine Robots for Industrial Inspection and Surveillance

Abstract

¶ Urban search and rescue, industrial inspections, and military intelligence have one need in common: smallsized mobile robots that can travel across the rubble of a collapsed building, squeeze through small crawl-spaces to take measurements or perform visual inspections, and slither into the shelter of insurgents to gather intelligence. Some of these areas are not only difficult to reach, but may also present safety and health hazards to human inspectors. One species of mobile robots that promises to deliver such hypermobility is the so-called serpentine or snake robot (see Figure 1). Serpentine robots typically comprise of three or more rigid segments that are connected by 2or 3-degree-of-freedom (DOF) joints. The segments typically have powered wheels, tracks, or legs to propel the vehicle forward, while the joints may be powered or unpowered. Desired capabilities for such a robot are: • ability to traverse rugged terrain, such as concrete floors cluttered with debris, or unfinished floors such as those found on constructions sites; • ability to fit through small openings; • ability to climb up and over tall vertical steps;