Self-Propelled, Flexible Robot Inspired by Snakes

Innovation: Industry

HiBot

2020

Image: Marius Masalar / Unsplash / CC BY SA - Creative Commons Attribution + ShareAlike

Protect From Dirt/solids

When dirt and other small solids adhere to living systems, they can slow them down, create blockages, reduce their ability to carry out vital functions, or cause surface wear and tear. Due to electrostatic forces, it’s easy for dirt and other solids to adhere to surfaces, so living systems must overcome those forces. An earthworm, for example, uses a small electric current to keep soil particles from adhering to its body as it moves through the soil. This enables it to move more efficiently by reducing drag.

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Move in/on Liquids

Water is not only the most abundant liquid on earth, but it’s vital to life–so it’s no surprise that the majority of life has evolved to thrive on and under its surface. Moving efficiently in and on this dense and dynamic substance presents unique challenges and opportunities for living systems. As a result, they have evolved countless solutions to optimize drag, utilize surface tension, fine tune buoyancy, and take advantage of various types of currents and fluid dynamics. For example, sharks can slide through water by reducing drag due to their streamlined shape and specially shaped features on their skin.

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Move in/on Solids

To obtain needed resources or escape predators, some living systems must move on solid substances, some must move within them, and others must do both. Solids vary in their form; they can be soft or porous like leaves, sand, skin, and snow, or hard like rock, ice, or tree bark. Movement can involve a whole living system, such as an ostrich running across the ground or an earthworm burrowing through the soil. It can also involve just part of a living system, such as a mosquito poking its mouthparts into skin. Solids vary in smoothness, stickiness, moisture content, density, etc, each of which presents different challenges. As a result, living systems have adaptations to meet one, and sometimes multiple, challenges. For example, some insects must be able to hold onto both rough and slippery leaf surfaces due to the diversity in their environment.

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Brochures

ACM-R5 HiBot Flyer
414.3 KB PDF

Patents

US9791090B2
2.4 MB PDF

Soryu-C from HiBot has a flexible body that helps it inspect narrow structures and harsh terrain.

Benefits

Autonomous
Flexible

Applications

Infrastructure inspection
Pipe & tunnel exploration

UN Sustainable Development Goals Addressed

Goal 3: Good Health & Wellbeing
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities

The Challenge

Large infrastructures often contain small, inaccessible spaces that are dangerous and difficult to get to. Parts of the structure oftentimes have to be temporarily dismantled or shut down in order to access a hard-to-reach area.

Innovation Details

Soryu-C is a slender snake-like robot designed for remote navigation and inspection of confined spaces, as well as uneven and unstructured environments. It can operate in mud, water, and sand, and can move over highly irregular surfaces such as debris. It is also equipped with two high-definition cameras for remote operation.

Soryu-C robot. Photo: HiBot.

Biological Model

Snakes are limbless animals, so they must move over a variety of surfaces using only their flexible and slender bodies. Snakes typically swim, climb or crawl by bending their spine into serpentine coils or using their scales to push off objects.

See Related Strategy

dark brown snake with white belly on a rock

Biological Strategy

Accordion Technique Allows Controlled Movement Through Narrow Channels

Snakes

Snakes use zig-zag anchor points and friction to maneuver through tight spaces.

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