Snake Robots

The book is written by professors and doctoral researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The authors are also associated with SINTEF, which is a Norwegian research organization that conducts applied research for the industry. NTNU and SINTEF have had cooperating research activities related to modelling, physical implementation, and control of snake robots since 2001. Over these years, our research group has acquired a leading role within this field with numerous publications in peer-reviewed conferences and top-ranked international journals. The research activity has resulted in the development of several snake robots which have attracted much national and international attention, and has also helped establish and strengthen relations with key research communities working with snake robots in Japan, USA, and the Netherlands. Nonlinear control of mechanical systems, which includes snake robot research, has been the main research activity by the research group of the authors for several decades with excellent results.

From the book reviews:“The monograph presents also the author’s own research and development in the field, which cover the full spectrum of mathematical modeling control design simulation studies and experimental demonstrator prototypes. … the intended audience for the present book consists of graduate students, Ph.D. students and scientists with an interest in robotics and control, specially in control and technology of snake robots or underactuated systems in general.” (Clementina Mladenova, zbMATH, Vol. 1291, 2014)“Although the first snake robot dates back to 1972 … robotics courses rarely mention them. In light of this, Snake robots constitutes a clarifying and stimulating starting point. … The authors’ own research is presented in this book, and their insights enable the reader to understand the behind-the-scenes work on snake robot projects. This aspect of the book is very helpful for researchers. This book has a clear structure and can be easily followed, making it appropriate for teaching purposes.” (Ramon Gonzalez Sanchez, ACM Computing Reviews, October, 2012)

• From the Contents: Part I: Snake Robot Locomotion on Planar Surfaces.- A Complex Model of Snake Robot Locomotion.- Development of the Mechanical Snake Wheeko.- Analysis and Synthesis of Snake Robot Locomotion.- Path-following Control and Poincaré Map Analysis.- Part II: Snake Robot Locomotion in Unstructured Environments.- Introduction to Part II.- A Hybrid Model of Snake Robot Locomotion.- Development of the Mechanical Snake Kulko.