The world's first terrain-crossing robot can move like a snake

Recently, a research team in Israel has successfully developed the first robot in the world that can create a wave-shaped motion with just one motor. This new robot is developed based on snake movement.

The world's first terrain-crossing robot can move like a snake Picture 1

The new robot is called Single Actuator Wave Robot (SAW) , and was created by Dr. David Zarrouk, of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Israel Institute of Technology, and a group of students of the school. "The robot was originally designed to be able to crawl inside the gut like an auto endoscope (to film intestinal and biopsies). I worked with this project for many years and just a few years ago, I think of a design that can produce continuous waveforms, " Zarrouk said.

The center of this motion is a spiral shaped bar made of 3D printing technology stretching over the body of the robot. When a single motor rotates this part, it will generate continuous wave motion and result in joints on the robot moving forward or backward when it comes into contact with the ground.

The world's first terrain-crossing robot can move like a snake Picture 2

With SAW wave motion it can climb over obstacles or go through tunnels, moving on different surfaces (like sand, grass, or gravel). The body is attached to the top with wheels, used to navigate, not to support movement. The team even created a waterproof version of the robot capable of swimming 6cm / s.

The world's first terrain-crossing robot can move like a snake Picture 3

The maximum speed of this robot on the ground is 57cm / s. Its speed is determined by the wavelength, wave length, thickness and amplitude of the wave.

The waveform body of this robot can be made in many different sizes depending on the intended use. Small size for medical use to large size for search and rescue.

Multi-terrain robot SAW

" In the future, we plan to shrink it until it is less than 1cm in diameter. We also plan to create a larger version by joining two robots together through a multidimensional connecting axis and type. remove the wheel, "said Zarrouk.

SAW is easy to control and reliable, with a very light weight and does not need a complex controller to generate wave motion. Although made with 3D printers, this robot is very durable."We have tested it to run through a lot of rough surfaces and robots have always accomplished the task of crawling in just one try and not having to maintain after every test," Dr Zarrou said.