Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!twg.com!cauhape
From: cauhape@twg.com (Jeff P. Cauhape)
Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Subject: locomotion: crawling?
Keywords: locomotion, legless
Message-ID: <7482@gollum.twg.com>
Date: 3 Jul 90 17:14:42 GMT
Organization: The Wollongong Group, Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 31

A layman asks:

Does anyone know if snake-like locomotion has been seriously
considered for robotic locomotion? If so, can you point me
to references?

It seems to me that there could be some advantages to using it:

1) There are no feet to be misplaced or trapped.
2) There are no legs to be broken.
3) Weight can be born over a larger surface area, which is an
   aid in travelling over a soft surface, or over a surface with
   irregular compaction.
4) Travelling over or through a liquid requires no change to the
   morphology of the robot.
5) Self-righting in the case of a spill would be easier.
6) A spill would be easier to avoid in the first place.

My _hunch_ is that the while the control circuits would be larger
due to the increased number of contractors, the over all design
would be simpler, and perhaps more importantly, the control
software may be simpler.

Thanks for any input on this.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jeff Cauhape	       | gen: Colonel, have you ever worked for the CIA?
cauhape@twg.com        | col: I am not now, nor have I ever been employed 
		       |      by the CIA. Furthermore, if I had, I
		       |      couldn't tell you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------