Snake robots, Biorobotics Laboratory, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Snake robots can use their many internal degrees of freedom to thread through tightly packed volumes and access locations that people and machinery otherwise cannot. These highly articulated devices can coordinate their internal degrees of freedom to perform a variety of locomotive gaits that go beyond the capabilities of conventional wheeled and legged robots. The true power of these devices is their versatility; they can crawl, climb, swim, and scale flights of stairs.

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From the Biorobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University, a snake robot (Snakebot) demonstrates how it can climb a tree and look around.

Please keep in mind that this robot climbed a specific tree with a specific trunk width about 1 meter off of the ground. The researchers working to design, build and program these robots still have much work to do to get these bots to climb taller trees of various sizes and to navigate over branches and wires.

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Snake robots from the Carnegie Mellon University Biorobotics Lab are demonstrated exploring a pancaked building and demonstrating deployment from a rescue canine. Footage from TEEX Disaster City and OH TF1 Training Facility in Dayton OH. Canine Remote Deployment System (CRDS) from Ryerson University.

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Carnegie Mellon show off their latest snake robot!

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The Biorobotics lab at Carnegie Mellon University has developed a next-generation snake robot. The most significant new feature of this robot is the incorporation series elastic actuation in each joint. This allows compliant motions and accurate torque control of the robot's joints.

The SEA Snake is also a significant step forward in terms of its sensing, power and torque density, communication, field ruggedness, and modularity.

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This video provides an overview of some initial torque-based motions for the Series Elastic Snake Robot (SEA Snake). Because the SEA Snake has the unique ability to accurately sense and control the torque of each of its joints, it can execute life-like compliant and adaptive motions, without complex controller or tactile sensing.

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This video demonstrates a gait-based compliant controller that allows the robot's shape to automatically adapt to its surroundings on pipes and and poles.

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Using a snake robot to navigate bends and junctions in a real-world sewer pipe network.

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This video provides an overview of some initial torque-based motions for the Series Elastic Snake Robot (SEA Snake). Because the SEA Snake has the unique ability to accurately sense and control the torque of each of its joints, it can execute life-like compliant and adaptive motions, without complex controller or tactile sensing.

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Carnegie Mellon's acclaimed snake-like robot can now slither its way underwater to inspect ships, submarines and infrastructure for damage.

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