Adaptive Concertina Locomotion of a Robotic Snake Through Narrow Uncertain Channels
Jit Koley, Devashish Sharma, Debraj Chakraborty, Harish K. Pillai
Abstract
The problem of mimicking the concertina locomotion mode of biological snakes through narrow channels of uncertain width, using a multi-link planar serpenoid robot, is considered. A novel algorithm for generating a reference trajectory that accurately reproduces this natural gait pattern is proposed and analysed for straight channels. A modification of this algorithm leverages feedback from the joints' currents and angular velocities to dynamically adjust the robot's movements within channels of unknown and varying widths. Experiments through rugged artificial channels of varying width show remarkable ability of the programmed snake robot to negotiate such terrains with agility and reasonable speed.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{icra2025_adaptiveconcerti,
title = {Adaptive Concertina Locomotion of a Robotic Snake Through Narrow Uncertain Channels},
author = {Jit Koley and Devashish Sharma and Debraj Chakraborty and Harish K. Pillai},
booktitle = {ICRA 2025},
year = {2025}
}