Development of a Snake Robot for Unstructured Environment

Abstract

This paper shows the development of a snake robot (KAEROT-snake V) which consists of 16 1-DOF actuator modules and head module. The modules are connected serially and the joint axis of each module is rotated by <TEX>$90^{\circ}$</TEX> with respect to the previous joint so that the snake robot can move in the 3D space. A tail actuator module includes slip-ring and metal connector. KAEROT-snake IV developed in prior research could move in the 3D space and climb up in a narrow pipe. But its design was not appropriate to the unstructured tough environment and its speed was somewhat slow. A new actuator module is designed to enclose all parts of the module so that any wire is not exposed. The size and weight of the new module was slightly reduced. And the rotation speed and torque of the joint was increased by about twice when compared with pre-module. An embedded controller was developed so small that it can be mounted inside the module. The performance of the developed robot was demonstrated through various locomotion experiments.