Bio-Inspired Snake Robots

Abstract

This chapter concerns modelling and control of snake robots. Specifically, the authors' main goal is introducing some of the fundamental design, modelling, and control approaches introduced for efficient snake robot locomotion in cluttered environments. This is a critical topic because, unlike locomotion in flat surfaces, where pre-specified gait equations can be employed, for locomotion in unstructured environment more sophisticated control approaches should be used to achieve intelligent and efficient mobility. To reach this goal, shape-based modelling approaches and a number of available control schemes for operation in unknown environments are presented, which hopefully motivates more scholars to start working on snake robots. Some ideas about future research plans are also proposed, which can be helpful for fabricating a snake robot equipped with the necessary features for operation in a real-world environment.