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 researchers have been working on this project for several years and recently published their first paper describing it. 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.”
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.”