Snake Robots

Snake Robots to Handle Subsea Maintenance (+Video)

Greg Watry | April 20, 2016

It slithers along the dark water’s surface, a beam of light emanating from its anterior. And then, it submerges to investigate the world below.
While the above description may sound like a sea monster sighting of yesteryear, it actually has a manmade explanation.
Roboticists have long been exploring the efficacy of snake robots in a variety of fields, from medical surgery to search-and-rescue missions in disaster areas. Now, Norwegian companies are banding together to create snake robots meant for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair. 

"S7 is an experimental prototype that is still under development. It was inspired by a Dr. Miller's encounter with a python. In particular it avoids using wheels to achieve locomotion by implementing a more advanced segment design. This allows for rectilinear locomotion. S7 is far more sophisticated electronically than previous snake robots in the series, including bidirectional packet-based radio and a variety of sensors." Source: http://www.snakerobots.com/S7.html

<more at http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2016/04/snake-robots-handle-subsea-maintenance; related articles and links: http://www.snakerobots.com/S7.html (Snake Robots website) and http://www.cnet.com/news/slinky-swimming-snake-robot-has-the-submersible-moves/ (+Video) (Slinky swimming snake robot has the undersea moves. This robot twists and twines under the water like a snake -- which is a good thing, since it's based on the real thing. April 18, 2016)>