SNAKE - Smart Navigational Adaptive Kinematic Exploration: An effective locomotion of Multi- Terrain Pneumatic Muscle-Driven Modular Soft Robot

Overview

Amphibious robots hold significant promise in scientific, commercial, and military applications, particularly in environments that are hazardous for humans. In this research, a modular amphibious soft snake robot was designed to navigate diverse terrains, utilizing a unified propulsion system for underwater swimming and terrestrial crawling. The robot's locomotion lies in a spring -reinforced pneumatic artificial muscle, generating a sinusoidal wave -like motion for efficient movement on both land and water. A unique pneumatic system consisting of six air chambers has been developed to independently regulate the traveling-wave undulation gait, ensuring seamless control regardless of the number of modules in the robotic system. Inspired by hierarchical hexagonal snake scale patterns, various 3D-printed silicone skins on the ventral side were employed to explore the directional efficiency of the robot's locomotion. Extensive experiments showcase the robot's versatility in crawling on diverse surfaces, such as san d, wood, gravel, concrete, and grass, while successfully navigating obstacles. Additional experiments also demonstrate the robot's maneuverability in swimming and hovering on water bodies, including an indoor pool and an artificial pond. The robot has been rigorously tested to traverse through pipes of different materials and dimensions. At a maximum actuation pressure of 206 kPa (30 psi), the robot achieved impressive speeds of up to 56 cm/s while crawling and 34 cm/s while swimming. The robot's efficient maneuverability through constrained environments, mimicking the movements of biological snakes on both land and water, opens possibilities for deployment in diverse applications, ranging from search and rescue operations to ecological surveys.