souryu
snake robots are also known as serpentine robots.
as the name suggests, these robots possess multiple actuated
joints thus mulitple degrees of freedom.
this gives them superior ability to flex, reach, and approach a
huge volume in its workspace with infinte number of configurations.
this redundance in configurations gives them the technical name:
hyper redundant robots. ideally, the future snake design will
consist of three degree of freedom stages - roll, pitch, and extension.
souryu or blue dragon, is a remote-controlled robot designed by
tokyo institute of technology's professor shigeo hirose.
the snake-like souryu crawls using six tracks, two on each
side of its three-part body. it is equipped with a camera
and microphone to search for victims, and can bend at
the joints or roll over on its side to maneuver through rubble.


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ACM-R3
the first successful mechanical snake was also developed
by professor shigeo hirose.
the active cord mechanism consisted of 13-links.