Plane-Parallel Motion of a Snake Robot in the Presence of Anisotropic Dry Friction and a Single Control Input

Abstract

A snake robot moving along a rough plane is considered. Anisotropic dry friction acts at the points of contact with the support. The link joints are passive, but coil springs are installed in them. The following robot configurations are compared: one-, two-, and three-link. The only control action is the torque applied to the flywheel installed in the head link. A control is constructed that ensures the steady motion of the robot, in which the center of mass moves along a serpentine trajectory. The specified configurations with identical dimensions, weight, and control restrictions are compared in terms of the average velocity of the progression of the center of mass and by the width of the path required for movement.