Motion planning of a snake-like robot based on artificial potential method

Abstract

The interaction between the snake-like robot and environment produces serpentine action to push the body forward. A slender body shape made from many modules occupies a larger scale. In this paper, snake-like robot motion planning method is analyzed by considering each module's position and its movement as well as position of obstacles. The Potential Energy Function between each module and obstacles is established by using artificial potential method as well as the Potential Energy Function between snake head and the target. With the potential energy function feedback to control the pendulum angle of serpentine movement, the snake-like robot motion planning in the obstacles environment is completed. The adjacent joint adjustment is achieved for movement stability during obstacle avoidance control. Finally, the simulation results verified the effectiveness of proposed path planning method.