(Video) Carnegie Mellon’s Robotic Snake

The Biorobotics Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University has been developing a unique type of robot that mimics the movements of snakes. The latest version is named “Uncle Sam,” and is capable of travelling across difficult terrain a bipedal robot would find difficult or impossible to navigate.

PhysOrg reports:

The snake’s movements are biomimetic, mimicking movements of real snakes including side-winding, wiggling and rolling. Now the snake robot can also wrap itself around a tree trunk and climb vertically up the outside of the tree. An earlier version has previously been demonstrated climbing vertically inside pipes. The many internal degrees of freedom make the snake robots extremely flexible and maneuverable.

Uncle Sam is built using modular segments containing actuators and sensors, and the head segment is fitted with a camera. Being modular allows the snake robot the potential to be self-assembled in the field, and also simplifies repair of the robot if sections are damaged. The modular nature also means the robot’s length can be adjusted easily as needed.

Watch a video demonstration below:

Snake Robots

PhysOrg: “Robot snake ‘Uncle Sam’ now climbs trees (w/ Video)”