Mechanical snake-like structures
Themes: Robotics
Early prototype
A TRL is a measure to indicate the matureness of a developing technology. When an innovative idea is discovered it is often not directly suitable for application. Usually such novel idea is subjected to further experimentation, testing and prototyping before it can be implemented. The image below shows how to read TRL’s to categorise the innovative ideas.
Click to enlarge
Why?
Snakes are able to navigate cluttered environments by steering their flexible bodies along the same path as their head. A device with similar abilities will have a variety of interesting applications of various scales. Examples range from steerable endoscopes to search and rescue robots.
How?
A cable-driven structure inspired by the tentacles of a Loliginidae squid enables the movement of the flexible device. Controlling the snake-like motion is based on a fully mechanical approach, excluding the need for computerized sensing and actuation, reducing space and costs.
When?
Various prototypes already validated the workings of the proposed technique. Its implementation is the next step. Currently, the focus is on the implementation as a surgical tool, but other fields of application are being explored.
Ir. Paul Henselmans