Snake locomotion inspires more efficient robot design
Researchers in the US have taken inspiration from the locomotion of snakes to design and build an all-terrain robot for search and rescue missions.
"By using their scales to control frictional properties, snakes are able to move large distances while exerting very little energy," said Hamid Marvi, a mechanical engineering Ph.D. candidate at Georgia Tech. "Rectilinear locomotion is very efficient and is especially useful for crawling within crevices, an invaluable benefit for search and rescue robots."
While most modes of snake locomotion involve the snake bending its body laterally, rectilinear locomotion is the only one in which it doesn't have to bend its body at all. Instead, the snake lifts its ventral scales and pulls itself forward by sending a muscular travelling wave from head to tail.
Scalybot 2 is designed to move in a similar fashion and can automatically change the angle of its 'scales' when it encounters different terrains and slopes. This allows it to either fight or generate friction. The two-link robot is controlled by a remote-controlled joystick and can move forward and backward using four motors.
