A simulator to analyze creeping locomotion of a snake-like robot

Abstract

Snakes perform many kinds of movement that are adaptable to the environment. Utilizing the snake (its forms and motion) as a model to develop a snake-like robot that emulates a snakes' function is important for generating a new type of locomotor and expanding the possible use of robots. We developed a simulator to simulate the creeping locomotion of a snake-like robot, in which the robot dynamics is modeled and its interaction with the environment is considered through Coulomb friction. This simulator makes it possible to analyze the creeping locomotion with the normal-direction slip coupled to gliding along the tangential direction. Through the developed simulator, we investigated the snake-like robot creeping locomotion which is generated only by swinging each of the joints from side to side, and discussed the optimal creeping locomotion of the snake-like robot that is adaptable to a given environment.