Obstacles are beneficial to me! Scaffold-based locomotion of a snake-like robot using decentralized control

Abstract

Snakes are able to move effectively by using terrain irregularities as scaffolds against which they push their bodies. This locomotion is attractive from a robotic viewpoint because irregularities in the environment of conventional robots interfere with their operation. In a previous work, we proposed a decentralized control mechanism of the scaffold-based locomotion of snakes, which combined curvature derivative control with local pressure reflex. Here, we practically demonstrate how a snake-like robot utilizing the proposed control scheme moves effectively by pushing its body against pegs.