Researchers at Harvard are testing a robotic snake to find out more about how a snake’s scales propel it along the ground in order to replicate its movements with similar “soft robot” coverings. The robot uses no rigid materials and researchers used a Japanese paper craft technique called kirigami to make its surface, which was fitted around an expanding and contracting actuator to make the “snake” move. Engineering fellow Kirigami said: “Ahmad Rafsanjani principles can be integrated into soft robots to achieve locomotion in a way that is simpler, faster, and cheaper than most previous techniques.”
Researchers at Harvard are testing a robotic snake to find out more about how a snake’s scales propel it along the ground in order to replicate its movements with similar “soft robot” coverings. The robot uses no rigid materials and researchers used a Japanese paper craft technique called kirigami to make its surface, which was fitted around an expanding and contracting actuator to make the “snake” move. Engineering fellow Ahmad Rafsanjani said: “Kirigami principles can be integrated into soft robots to achieve locomotion in a way that is simpler, faster, and cheaper than most previous techniques.”