Active Inclination Modification for Snake Robots in Environments Including a Plane with Varying Inclination Angle

This study proposes a novel approach for a snake robot traversing an environment composed of two planes, one fixed and the other varying in inclination. Instead of adapting to the environment, the robot propels itself by deliberately changing the environment into a form that facilitates mobility. Assuming that the robot straddles two planes, the inclination of the planes is changed by controlling the motion of the part that straddles them. The proposed method changes the inclination only through movement of the robot, which straddles the planes. Therefore, other body parts can be used in conjunction with other motions using conventional methods. The effectiveness of the proposed method and its limitations were verified through physical simulations. The simulation results confirmed that the snake robot can modify the inclination of the plane if its posture is suitable for modifying the environment.