We are always intrigued by biomimetic technologies that find
answers based in imitating naturally developed systems.
Mechanical locomotion that imitates animal locomotion is
particularly interesting. So we liked finding this video of a
robotic snake being which is developed by a team at Carnegie
Mellon University. The motion of the snake-bot would allow it to
maneuver through tighter spaces than either people or other
mechanisms can easily move through. According to the
researchers, "Snake robots can use their many internal degrees
of freedom to thread through tightly packed volumes accessing
locations that people and machinery otherwise cannot use." The
flexibility and maneuverability of the snakebot allow it to move
through a wide range of terrain types, and could be useful for a
range of tasks from building maintenance to field research. See
the video after the jump... Many more videos are on the team's
website, demonstrating a range of motions that the snakebot can
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