Gaits

Biological snakes have the widest variety of gaits in the animal kingdom. To provide locomotion for our robotic snakes, we are modeling gaits found in nature, designing our own easy-to-control gaits, and adapting them both to our mechanisms. Below are links to various gaits we have developed and are working on.

One of the simplest methods of locomotion is to develop a series of joint angles which describe a certain shape or wave. The period of the wave can be shorter than the robot, the same length, or longer, depending on the type of motion and the requirements. For example, the sinusoidal gait is a relatively simple wave but requires at least two points of contact for stability necessitating at least one and a half periods to be present in the robot at all times. Rolling is also a simple form of motion, but due to the nature of the position of the robot, its period must be exactly as long as the robot. On the other hand, concertina is described by a very complicated series of joint angles, which can be propagated through the robot but the nature of the curve mandates a period much longer than the robot (all phases cannot be performed at once, at least not on our robot).