Photos courtesy Carnegie Mellon University.

by Scott Kesselman



In the most recent issue of the journal Science, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon State University and Zoo Atlanta report that they used biologically inspired snake robots to determine how sidewinders climb sandy surfaces.



Before the study, the snake robot, developed at Carnegie Mellon, was able to use one component of sidewinding motion to travel along level ground. After analyzing snake motion on sandy hills with a high-speed camera, the scientists were able to program the robot to move in a unique wave motion utilizing three dimensions.



“Our initial idea was to use the robot as a physical model to learn what the snakes experienced,” says Daniel Goldman, associate professor in Georgia Tech’s physics department. “By studying the animal and the physical model simultaneously, we learned important general principles that allowed us to not only understand the animal, but also to improve the robot.”



The robot measures 37 inches long, two inches wide and consists of 16 joints all perpendicularly aligned with adjacent joints to allow for more freedom of movement.



“This type of robot often is described as biologically inspired, but too often the inspiration doesn’t extend beyond a casual observation of the biological system,” says professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon Howie Choset. “In this study, we got biology and robotics, mediated by physics, to work together in a way not previously seen.”



The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, Army Research Office and Army Research Laboratory, might see practical applications in search-and-rescue operations over rubble or rough terrain or inspections of small, hard to access places like pipes or ducts.

Check out the sidewinders in action here.