ViperBot: The Nature-Inspired Rescue Robot for Disaster Operations

The emerging disaster situations within buildup areas due to the collapsing of buildings and tunnels due to bombardments, and natural disasters require immediate rescue missions to save the lives affected, however, the volatile environment poses a huge threat to the rescuers. Furthermore, the aforesaid situation also hinders the surveillance and detection capability. This work is focused on the development of a snake robot with natural side winding rectilinear and serpentine motion to assist rescuers in surveillance and detection of affected within rubbles and ruins. The snake robot, which is composed of numerous series of elastic actuators, utilizes a modular structure to flexibly comply with demanding conditions. Within the snake robot’s 10 joints, an unequal or odd number of series elastic actuators are utilized. We take into account various factors such as size, weight, power, and speed as tradeoffs. Each standalone module consists of a geared servo motor, a bearing, and a series elastic actuator, along with custom electronics that integrate sensors. We also developed the infra-red camera-equipped head and tail modules of the robot, as well as the software program responsible for coordinating the aforementioned motion. Furthermore, we validated and the simulation for both the open-loop and closed-loop control environments. The testing of the prototype in different real-world surface conditions was carried out with successful results.