Design of Sidewinding Snake Robot with Reduced Degree of Freedoms

The authors have been researching and developing snake robots that can move over fragile ground. Real desert snakes can move over sand using sidewinding locomotion. To realize this locomotion by a snake robot with three dimensions movements, many active DOFs are required to lift its body segments. In this study, we focus on the regularity of sidewinding locomotion passively and report the design of a new mechanism to lift the body segments in conjunction with active degrees of freedom in the horizontal direction. We explain about analysis of the Snake Robot's Trajectory Planning and Sidewinding Movement.