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A Modular Snake Robot
StCredZero writes "Researchers at CMU are working on a Modular Snake Robot. A video from this site is up on YouTube. In addition to being able to traverse a wide variety of terrain, the robot can also climb poles, the inside of pipes and conduits, small grooves in walls, and probably more. It can also swim. Many robots can do one of those tasks. This one can do them all. That's quite an accomplishment. This has tremendous potential for the maintenance of fiber optic networks, pipelines, and plumbing in large buildings; and also as a spy device. (I wonder how loud it is?)"
They are still all Tethered units, which limits their functionality. Of course, they are still in the development stage, so a tethered unit is to be expected.
It will be interesting to see if they can progress beyond tethered to wireless, and finally to fully autonomous units. I would imagine that they will need to get a bit bigger to accommodate the extra electronics needed.
Still, a very cool and potentially VERY useful technology.
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