Study on rectilinear locomotion based on a snake robot with passive anchor

Abstract

Snakes and worms are capable of travelling through tightly confined spaces on a resistance medium using rectilinear locomotion. To apply this kind of gait into snake-inspired robots, some fundamental properties remain elusive. In this paper, we present a n-segment kinematic model of the snake robot based on an ideal anchor assumption. Then, the relationships between the motion performance and the gait patterns are identified based on two force constraints hypothesises. To validate theoretical analysis of kinematic model and prediction of average velocity, the experiments are conducted on a novel snake-like robot prototype. Each module of the robot contains unique one-direction wheels, which generate sufficient backward friction force severing as anchoring force.