1

K.S.RANGASAMY COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

TIRUCHENGODE – 637209

SNAKE ROBOTS –
APPLICATIONS AND
DESIGN

DESIGNED BY

TARUN SINGH

K.
MANIKANDAN

FINAL Yr B.E.,
 2

Ideally, the future

snake design will
consist of three
degree of freedom
Abstract stages --- roll, pitch,
and extension.
Snake robots are a
Sometimes stages
new type of robots,
are called bays. In
known also as
this paper the
serpentine robots. As
application of snake
the name suggests,
robots in aerospace
these robots possess
drilling and accurate
multiple actuated
assembly were
joints thus multiple
discussed. Since they
degrees of freedom.
have multiple
This gives them
degrees of freedom
superior ability to
its application
flex, reach, and
extended to confined
approach a huge
spaces and nuclear
volume in its
applications.
workspace with
infinite number of Requirements
configurations. This for the designs
redundancy in included that they
configurations gives were to be
them the technical untethered, which
name: hyper meant they had to
redundant robots. carry their own
computers and
Here we
batteries. They were
develop new snake
to be radio-
robot designs.
 3

controlled, to avoid forming a serpentine

the problem of robot.
artificial intelligence
Key word: snake
and sensing. They
robot, confined
needed to be simple
space, degrees of
to drive. For the
freedom,
applications that we
are interested in, the
Serpenti
main challenge in
ne robot
designing these
robots deals with Why snake
putting actuated robots?
joints in a tight
volume where we Biological
minimize the length snakes occupy a
of the stages and wide variety of
their cross sectional ecological niches,
areas. For the next ranging from arid
design iteration, we desert to tropical
will omit the jungle as well as
extension degree of swimming in rivers
freedom in favor of and oceans.
having a shorter bay Abandoning limbs
length. Therefore, and developing
the main concept of elongated spines has
our design, as well as proved an effective
many others, is to survival strategy,
stack two degree-of- allowing snakes to
freedom joints on top hunt underground in
of each other, confined tunnels,
above ground in
 4

grassy fields and up meant they had to

in the tree-tops, even carry their own
falling in a controlled computers and
glide from one tree batteries. They were
to the next. By to be radio-
attempting to build controlled, to avoid
robots that emulate the problem of
and perhaps match artificial intelligence
the capabilities of and sensing. They
their biological needed to be simple
counterparts, it is to drive. The large
possible that we will number of segments
create useful tools had to be controlled
capable of carrying using one or two
sensors, taking joysticks. The long
samples, and making term goal is to
physical changes in a enable exploration in
wide variety of dangerous
environments. The environments and to
robot designs aid in search and
evolved from one rescue. A hoped-for
generation to the side effect is to
next, incorporating encourage people to
lessons learned from look at snakes in a
previous prototypes. new way,
appreciating what
Require
they have to teach
ments for the
us about navigating
designs included that
and traversing the
they were to be
world.
untethered, which
 5

Snake robots autonomous to

have many human-guided. The
applications, but are robot will be able to
hard to control. A optimize its own path
person cannot simply based on a range of
operate each joint of cost functions from
a snake individually power consumption
because there are to safety or even
too many. These stealth.
robots require a
motion planning Mechanism and
algorithm. Motion Design of snake
planning for snake robots:
robots is difficult
because the robots Snake robots

have many internal are a new type of

degrees of freedom robots, known also as

that have to be serpentine robots. As

coordinated to the name suggests,

achieve purposeful these robots possess

motion. In motion multiple actuated

planning jargon, this joints thus multiple

means the snake degrees of freedom.

robots exist in large This gives them

dimensional superior ability to

configuration spaces. flex, reach, and

Our work will make it approach a huge

possible for the volume in its

robots to operate in workspace with

several different infinite number of

modes from fully configurations. This

 6

redundancy in
configurations gives
them the technical
name: hyper
redundant robots.
Here we develop new
snake robot designs.
Ideally, the future
snake design will For the next
consist of three design iteration, we
degree of freedom will omit the
stages --- roll, pitch, extension degree of
and extension. freedom in favor of
Sometimes stages having a shorter bay
are called bays. For length. Therefore,
the applications that the main concept of
we are interested in, our design, as well as
the main challenge in many others, is to
designing these stack two degree-of-
robots deals with freedom joints on top
putting actuated of each other,
joints in a tight forming a serpentine
volume where we robot.
minimize the length
There are three
of the stages and
main schools of
their cross sectional
designs for these
areas
kinds of robots:
actuated universal
joint, angular swivel
joints and angular
 7

bevel joint. The

simplest design that
first comes to mind is
stacking simple
revolute joints as
close as possible to
each other and this
led to the actuated
universal joint
design. However
these kinds of
designs are bulky
and not appropriate
of lots of serpentine
robot applications.
Another kind of bulky
two DOF joints are The second design
pneumatic snakes. that evolved was the
angular swivel joints,
which is present in
the JPL Serpentine
Robot. These are
much more compact
two DOF joints. The
design is simple:
starting with a
sphere, then slicing
the sphere into two
parts such that the
slice plane is
transverse to the
 8

south-north pole axis with robots on

of the sphere. Now production lines
rotate one half where there is plenty
spheres with respect of room in which to
to the other operate.
orthogonal to the
sphere at the poles What is a
and coordinating the confined
motors that rotate space?
those hemispheres
leads to a two DOF Confined spaces

joint and notice the exist by design (e.g.

motion of the poles. aircraft engine), by

Putting the snake failure (e.g. collapsed

bays building) or naturally

(e.g. human body).

APPLICATIONS

Robotics
develops snake-
arm robots for
confined It is important to
realize that confined
spaces.
spaces only exist

Historically where there is a

automation has reason why the

focused on tasks in confined space

unconfined spaces. shouldn't or can't be

We are all familiar converted into an

 9

unconfined space. In without disturbing or

other words, a damaging the
confined space environment.
occurs when you
Robotics
can't or don't want to
snake-arm robots
take apart or
have been developed
dismantle for
to reach into
whatever reason.
confined spaces.
Confined spaces These robots have
exist in nuclear many joints and so,
reactors, aircraft, the unlike conventional
human body, robots, they do not
industrial processing have prominent
plant, underwater elbows. This means
environments, ship- the whole device can
building, space. follow where the tip
Actually, when you has gone. The
consider buildings, operator only directs
roads pipelines and the tip which makes
other man-made controlling these
spaces, it becomes devices intuitive and
clear that the world easy to learn. The
is full of awkward commercial
confined spaces. The advantage for using
technical challenge snake-arm robots is
in confined spaces is that taking things
to avoid obstacles - apart costs time and
to snake into money and can
cluttered cause damage. There
environments is also an increasing
 10

level of confined has been slow to

spaces legislation, introduce industrial
which raises the cost robotics onto its
of manual access, assembly lines.
especially in dirty Recently, however,
and dangerous there has been a
environments. general move
Snake-arm robots towards automation
can add value as well in order to increase
as saving money. For throughput and
instance snake-arm standardise
robots may enable processes. The slow
you to design and introduction of
build in a different industrial robots into
way - e.g. the aerospace
automating low industry is largely
access assembly and due to the need for
designing for high accuracy over
automated large structures. For
maintenance that example, holes have
avoids disassembly. to be drilled within
large structures with
Snake-arm both high absolute
robots for and relative accuracy
aircraft relative to other
assembly
holes and features of
the aircraft
Compared to assembly.
the automotive
Airbus has
industry, the
been researching low
aerospace industry
 11

cost, highly flexible tools precisely, but

automation for other capabilities
several years. must be added to
However, tasks operate within
within rib bays and confined spaces. In
other low access particular it is
areas found necessary to have a
throughout aircraft robot arm that does
structures have not have prominent
remained practically ‘elbow’ joints. Snake-
inaccessible to arm robots, having
automation. continuous curvature
Manoeuvring an along their length,
industrial robot are ideal for these
through a small applications.
opening becomes an
Aerospace
‘eye of the needle’
problem: it becomes Applications
practically impossible Robotics is
to use a conventional working with Airbus
robot-arm to pass UK and KUKA to
through an access develop aerospace
hole, for example, robots to deliver end
and conduct work effectors packages
within a wing box. capable of
Operating within a inspection, drilling,
rib bay requires sealing and swaging.
some of the A snake-arm robot
capabilities of can be considered as
industrial robots, e.g. an additional tool
the ability to place that the larger
 12

industrial robot can wrist and interface to

deliver or as an attach different tools
extension to the for tasks such as
industrial robot. The swaging, sealing and
image on the right inspection inside the
shows the industrial rib bay.
robot providing the
Tools and
linear movement
required for path- applications
following with the The purpose of
snake-arm robot a snake-arm is to
attached as a introduce tools or
forearm at the sensors into a
industrial robot’s confined space. In
wrist. order to maximize
the benefit of the
snake-arm’s path-
following capability,
the diameter of the
end effector’s
envelope must be
equal to or less than
the diameter of the
snake-arm. The
length of the end
effectors must be
minimized, ideally to
the diameter of the
snake-arm or at least
The snake-arm is
to less than 1.5x the
also equipped with a
diameter. In addition
 13

to these allow
considerations, automatic
further restrictions orientation of
were placed on the the tool piece
-arm robots. to the seam.

Three
A Snake Robot
interchangeable end
Search-And-
effectors were
designed by Robotics Rescue
for the demonstrator: Mission-

1 • An inspection scope for

tool containing future
several applications
cameras with
This scenario is
ones
purely imaginary and
2 various
is presented to help
function
provide a goal for
3 • A swage tool future developments
to swage a rather than stating
rivet and direct current capabilities.
the removed
section into a Following a major
collection area earthquake the
ground floors having
1 • A sealant tool
collapsed remain
incorporating a
standing but
standard sized
unstable, threatening
sealant
to fall at the next
cartridge and
aftershock. Willing
nozzle, with
rescuers stand ready
cameras to
 14

to climb and dig, but behaviors to be

the question remains activated.
of whether the risk of
injury to them is
worth the chance of
finding someone
buried under the
rubble. Fortunately, a
new generation of
search-and-rescue
snake robots is now
available to answer
that question. Pulling
out a 2-meter long
tube from under the
stretcher in the
paramedic
ambulance, the
operator opens one
end and powers up
the system. Operator
removes a remote There are also
control unit which two joysticks and a
has a video screen variety of other
built into it, fed by buttons and knobs
the camera from the for controlling
head of the robot, subsidiary
with a graphical parameters of the
overlay allowing a system. The would-
range of optional be rescuers carry the
tube as close as
 15

possible to the towards a 20-cm

wreckage, and slide wide gap where one
the snake robot out house has collapsed
of the end of it. A and is leaning
thin composite cable against another.
goes from the inside Approaching the
of the tube to the tail aperture, the snake
of the snake, transitions to
supplying power and rectilinear motion,
carrying data in both and uses infrared
directions. The distance measuring
operator activates devices and flex-
the snake's sensor whiskers to
locomotion system center it between the
and moves it walls. As it moves
forwards. It further inside, the
automatically adapts operator switches to
to the uneven ground the infrared-sensitive
and rises up over camera and
small obstacles while illuminates the scene
maneuvering around with high-power
the larger ones. LEDs.
Pausing every few As the snake
feet to listen for progresses, it sweeps
signs of survivors, the area up ahead
the snake robot's with a pyroelectric
head relays binaural device to look for
stereo sound back to body heat. Its
the operator. Hearing underbody (ventral)
no cries for help, the scales pull the robot
snake is directed along the ground like
 16

a small conveyor relaying information

belt, even pushing it back to the operator.
through the tangled
heaps of cables left Small scales on
by the collapsed the skin of the snake
building. Then it robot grip the walls
reaches a region of and allow it to push
shattered plaster and forwards by changing
broken rubble, which the amplitude of its
provides insufficient coils in one region
grip for forward while gripping with
locomotion. The another. Once
tether is also pulling through this difficult
on the snake robot's area the snake
tail, caught as it is on comes to a region of
previous the original floor of
obstructions. At the the house. The snake
system's on-screen swishes its head from
suggestion, the side to side to sweep
operator switches the the area clean of
snake robot to rubble. Using a
internal power and downward-sensing
detaches the tip of ultrasonic device in
the tail by remote the chin of the robot,
control. This now the operator
becomes a base determines that it is
station possible to make a
communicating hole leading directly
wirelessly with the to the basement of
snake robot and the building. The
snake robot it
 17

instructed to detach, direction from where

from under its head, the sounds
a small shaped- originated. The
explosive charge, operator pinpoints on
which it leaves on a map where the
the floorboards and survivor is most
slithers back slightly likely to be found.
before detonating The location is shown
the charge and in relation to a
making a 10-cm hole reconstructed 3-D
in the floor. Curling model of the path
its head downwards taken by the snake
through the opening robot, along with the
it pushes forwards by surfaces it sensed.
a meter or so and Other rescuers are
then uses its neck to given the go-ahead
point its head in a to carefully approach
variety of directions the building as the
looking for survivors. operator talks to the
There is a peak survivor over a
detected by the loudspeaker carried
pyroelectric sensor, by the snake robot,
and the snake letting him know that
freezes, going silent. help is one its way
The and trying to
microphones pick up discover the extent
the faint sounds of of his injuries.
breathing and the
infrared camera CONCLUSION
indicates a blob in In this paper
approximately the the fundamental
 18

needs and design of and hazardous

snake robots were environments
dealt with. Since the
snake like robot has References
multiple degrees of
freedom, it can be
www.google.com
used for several
applications. The
www.snake
applications of snake
robots.com
robots in aircraft
industry for assembly
and accurate drilling www.findfast.com
operations were also
dealt elaborately.
The application www.altavista.com
“search and rescue “In
robot” for various dustrial Robotics”
hazardous areas has by ‘Robert
been discussed in Groover’
detail. Since the “In
snake like robots can dustrial Robotics”
also move through by ‘Deb’
the confined spaces
its applications are
still extended to
nuclear and intricate
places. This paper
will give an overview
of serpentine robot in
various applications
19