Snake robots seem to be an emerging field in robotics, particularly autonomous ones. The military is developing snake robots to disable explosives, but a few researchers are developing snake robots for more peaceful purposes.
Natural disasters can be just as dangerous for the rescue workers as they are for the people caught in them. That's why researchers at the International Institute for Technology in India are developing a snake robot that's designed to help rescue survivors stranded in the remnants of a natural disaster.
The region knows a thing or two about natural disasters: Pakistan is currently under siege from the worst floods in the country's history. What's more, those floods have lead to major outbreaks of disease across the country.
I got in touch with one of the project's researchers, Sriranjan Rasakatla. "If one improves the search process, then rescue will come even faster, and more lives will be saved," he said.
Below is a video of the researchers demonstrating their snake robot in its autonomous mode as well as when it is being controlled by the researchers directly through their "data glove."
Rasakatla says their snake robot can swim, climb stairs, move through sand and grass, and even maneuver through bushes. Some of the robots' movements have been specialized to deal with a particular set of conditions. For instance, if the environment is slippery, the robot is equipped with greater traction than one that was dispatched to a desert setting.
Unlike some other autonomous robots, these snake robots can also be controlled quite simply by a data glove. As you saw in the video, researchers developed an algorithm to identify natural gestures like lift and scoop, and let the the glove communicate those movements to the snake robot.
Natural disasters can be just as dangerous for the rescue workers as they are for the people caught in them. That's why researchers at the International Institute for Technology in India are developing a snake robot that's designed to help rescue survivors stranded in the remnants of a natural disaster.
The region knows a thing or two about natural disasters: Pakistan is currently under siege from the worst floods in the country's history. What's more, those floods have lead to major outbreaks of disease across the country.
I got in touch with one of the project's researchers, Sriranjan Rasakatla. "If one improves the search process, then rescue will come even faster, and more lives will be saved," he said.
Below is a video of the researchers demonstrating their snake robot in its autonomous mode as well as when it is being controlled by the researchers directly through their "data glove."
Rasakatla says their snake robot can swim, climb stairs, move through sand and grass, and even maneuver through bushes. Some of the robots' movements have been specialized to deal with a particular set of conditions. For instance, if the environment is slippery, the robot is equipped with greater traction than one that was dispatched to a desert setting.
Unlike some other autonomous robots, these snake robots can also be controlled quite simply by a data glove. As you saw in the video, researchers developed an algorithm to identify natural gestures like lift and scoop, and let the the glove communicate those movements to the snake robot.
Tags: Autonomous Robots, Robotics, Robots
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