Study on self-contained and terrain adaptive active cord mechanism

A snake is able to attain high terrain adaptability and versatile locomotion even though it has an extremely simple one-dimensional configuration. In order to utilize these functions for robotics, we have adapted the basic biological machine elements of the snake into the active cord mechanism (ACM). We have discussed the creeping dynamics and applications to manipulation. In this paper, we develop a new experimental model named "ACMR-R1" with a self-contained system, which realizes higher mobility and terrain adaptability compared with the past model. Next, gliding experiments on ice were carried out in order to demonstrate that the creeping motion is the same as the principle of skating. Finally, a new terrain adaptive control method for sloping surfaces is proposed, and we verified the effectiveness of it by slope climbing experiments.