Snake Robots may aid Homeland Security

Posted 7 May 2003 at 03:32 UTC by The Swirling Brain

A USA Today article mentions how snake robots may aid homeland security. Penn State University displayed the snake robots at their first Keystone Homeland Security University Research Alliance summit. The serpentine robots are a project of Carnegie Mellon University which is one of the members of the research alliance. The snakebots can slither into tight spots, roll over rough terrain, or lift and bend to do things like inspect bridges with its camera and other sensors. These snake robots are also able to aid in locating land mines and assessing contamination at waste storage sites.

More snake robot articles: Global Technoscan, Navy, Space.com, Nasa, CMU Research, USA Today, CM U Info + News.

This is a fantastic concept.. , posted 9 May 2003 at 06:46 UTC by Jhoffa_ » (Journeyer)

People never cease to amaze me..

If you could attain the level of flexibility and traction possessed by an ordinary garden snake, it would be nearly the perfect robotic platform.

It could go about anywhere, turn on a dime, climb stairs, navigate complex obstacles.. Do nearly anything you wanted it to.

I see allot of these articles where someone, someplace is trying very hard to duplicate a particular animal's or insect's locomotion to gain an advantage in diverse conditions, but IMO, this is one of the best and most versatile concepts yet.

Just a genuinely neat idea..

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