Paper Abstract

 Title:  Gait Kinematics of a Serpentine Robot

 Authors:  Jim Ostrowski and Joel Burdick

 Submitted :  1996 IEEE Int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation.

ABSTRACT:

This paper considers the problem of serpentine, or snake-like, locomotion from the perspective of geometric mechanics. A particular model, which is similar to Hirose's Active Cord Mechanism (ACM), is analyzed. Using the kinematic constraints, we develop a "connection," which describes the net motion of the machine as a function of variations in the mechanism's shape variables. We present simulation results demonstrating three types of locomotive gaits, one of which bears an obvious resemblance to the serpentine motion of a snake. We also show how these algorithms can be used to optimize certain inputs given the particular choice of physical parameters for a snake robot.