1st IEEE RAS-EMBS International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob 2006), Pisa, Italy, 20 - 22 February 2006, pp.277-278
This paper describes our research project on snake-like locomotion of robotic platforms and the results of the experiments conducted with a wheel-less snake-like robot prototype. Biological inspiration has been at the hardcore of the mechanical design and the control method applied to the robot. With closed-loop control applied to the present wheel-less prototype, it has succeeded in progressing through lateral undulation, the most common limbless locomotion type observed in natural snakes. Main results consist of the robustness of the locomotion with respect to the variations in initial conditions and external perturbations.