After studying snakes to see how they maneuver through unstable sandy surfaces, researchers have developed a robot designed to mimic the same slithering movement. Designed and built by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon State University, and Zoo Atlanta, the robot is known as the Modsnake.
After studying snakes to see how they maneuver through unstable sandy surfaces, researchers have developed a robot designed to mimic the same slithering movement.
Designed and built by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Carnegie Mellon University, Oregon State University, and Zoo Atlanta, the robot is known as the Modsnake.
Sidewinder snakes can move quickly up steep inclines of sand by moving side to side while staying flat on the ground to increase the area of contact between key sections of their body and the grains of sand.
Daniel Goldman, an associate professor at Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Physics is quoted as saying: "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."
At first, using only a single vertical and horizontal sine wave, the 37-inch-long Modsnake had a hard time climbing steep gradients of sand in lab tests, and a field test that took place during an archaeological expedition in the Red Sea caves.
After further research and development, the Modsnake was redesigned to move horizontally and vertically through a three dimensional space using programmed wave motions.
