Snake Gaits

What Are Gaits?

Central to the mission of the modsnake project is the development of novel gaits, cyclic inputs on the joint angles of the snake robot whose internal motions provide a net displacement in a desired direction. We have developed several gaits described by a small set of parameters, described below. Although we make no claim to the full generality of our gait model, we have been able to mimic all biological gaits and develop those that go beyond biological capability.

However, many tasks cannot be completed solely by executing a parameterized gait. These cases arise due to task complexity and robot hardware limitations such as size and motor strength. Scripted gaits are developed specifically for the robot to complete a desired task. Examples of such tasks include stairclimbing, gap crossing, reaching into a hole in a wall, railroad track crossing, and camera scanning with the head of the robot.