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Remote Control Robotic Snakes
0xdeaddeaf writes "Check out this site on remote controlled robtoic snakes from Dr. Gavin Miller. He's been working on a realistic moving robotic snake for a number of years and has posted several videos of his prototypes that span from S1 in 1987 to S5 in 1999. The snakes are self contained with onboard computer, battries, receiver, and locomotion system. The video of S3 shows they can move like sidewinders and S5 does indeed look extremely realistic. Put a skin on these things and there is no doubt you fool a lot of people if the motors are quiet. The New Scientist has an additional
article that explains how their movement is performed. "
A real snake applies force on the bumps and imperfections of the surface it's moving on. Except for sidewinders and large constrictors, most snakes can't progress at all on perfectly flat surfaces. They have to brace themselves in a couple different places then strategically apply shearing forces on these braces to move forward. Fortunatly for these snakes flat surfaces are extremely rare in nature (ice is the only one that comes to mind, and if a snake's on that it's got bigger problems).
The only snakes that can move by gripping with their scales are the large constrictors. This is because those snakes are so big that for them there are more relatively flat surfaces than for smaller snakes.
Are they REALLY advances in robotics? Or is it just that things that have been around for a long time are finally economical/desirable to sell to the public?
:-) )
"Electronic dog" is only a term, not a reflection of reality. Would you mistake AIBO for a real dog? Or a robotic snake for a real snake? (That one's more likely, since a snake mostly moves and slithers, but I bet it still couldn't survive like a real snake does.) Is it REALLY that sophisticated?
Heck, maybe the answer to my question is "yes", but the importent point here is that there is a long, long way between robotic limbs directly interfacing with humans and a snake that moves (not breaths, not exists self-sufficiently, not thinks, just moves) in the same fashion as a real snake.
So, to answer your questions, we are still a long way from prothetic limbs.
(Unless you don't mind controlling a limb with three motors (manipulating each motor directly) and having no direct feedback, not to mention having the strength of a three-year old child and no reliability. What do you even mean by "prosthetic"? Indistinguishable replacement? Or does Captain Hook have a prosthetic?
Snake movement is actually performed by a wide variety of motions, depending on terrain and speed requirements. The classical "winding" movement is accomplished with the shearing forces of angled coils, as you say. They also have the option of very slow movement on smooth, low-friction terrain by rippling the scales on the undersides of their bodies. Typically, though, snakes will use natural objects or deformations on tough terrain. The ability of the snake to focus tremendous strength and precision on a single loop of its body is amazing. Moreover, with a single strong hold the arboreal snake can typically extend more than 75% of its total length into mid-air in search of a second hold. The really critical thing, I think, is that its "limbs" aren't jointed; they're continuous articulated limbs that can put controlled pressure on every point of contact, and the snake makes full use of that fact. My 6-foot reticulated python can put 5 feet of its body into the air searching for an escape route, and with a minor purchase on the lid of her cage, can then proceed to lift her whole body up and out. I've frequently seen snakes use a form of movement that involves pinching a large coil between two obstacles and then flexing the muscles to form a chimney stop. Then it hoists the rest of its body over the stop and repeats the movement with another coil. Snake movement is absolutely remarkable. MJP
Don't try that "protecting the children" shit you people use to keep the tits and bad words off my TV. --Seanbaby
I'll bet that these will be used for survillence. Can you just see it?
guard #1: Did you hear that?
guard #2: Something over there I think.
guard #1: Ah, I see it. Just a garter snake.
It seems as though robotics are advancing REALLY fast right now. Electronic dogs, snakes, more on the way. With all of these advances, how far are we from having cybernetic limbs? Put together these robotics with the story of the brain interfacing computer, I don't see it far off before we see brain controlled robotic prosthetics (sp?). Anyone out there in slashdot know if these are being developed, and if so, how far off are they?
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There's a mirror of two pictures and one of the MPEGs here:
http://www.angelfire.com/sd/sdmirror/
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Although this is a pretty cool engineering feat and will probably eventually become useful, I don't consider it to be very meaningful in the Big Scheme of things. IMNSHO, biomimetics is the result of people getting what is essentially the wrong message from nature.
/that/. This may not (in fact, it probably will not) produce motion mechanisms that are identical to snakes', but it will at the very least produce systems that are equivalently adapt at moving in the same kind of environment. Not only that, it'll also provide us with an endless source of new ideas for systems and of insight as to how to design better ones. In effect, instead of copying nature's mechanisms, we are learning to program for ourselves.
... which is what is generally thought to be most likely to have happened. Before you try to assert that there was any kind of external (external to the environment - i.e., supernatural) intervention, let me tell you that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and until I see some of it, I'm sticking with the strictly-natural theory.
What I mean is: people look at, e.g., a snake moving around gracefully, and they say "Let's replicate that kind of movement! It'll make for very useful robots!" So they go and study snake physiology for years on end, eventually mapping down the entire motion mechanism. Then comes the hard part: they try to build an artificial motion mechanism that works on the same principles. This proves incredibly frustrating, and it takes a Long Long Time and plenty of irritating compromises before someone comes out with a workable design - which will likely resemble the original in very few aspects. In effect, they're just trying to reverse-engineer a finished product [1], knowing only assembler code and nothing of high-level programming.
Now, I think a much better way to do things is to notice, instead, how incredible it is that such a powerful and versatile, while buggy, mechanism has arisen from just a few organic molecules without external intervention [2], and to concentrate on learning how the evolutionary process works - and to try and mimick
Of course, I'm aware that many steps have already been taken in this direction (the GA-designed Lego Bridge comes to mind), but GA-based tech is nowhere near as popular a research field as traditional biomimetics.
[1] Yes, I know, nothing in nature is a "finished product". I just used the term for the purpose of analogy.
[2]
To the editors: your English is as bad as your Perl. Please go back to grade school.
http://www.aontic.com/snake/
Moderate up so people can take a quick look at this stuff...
This is all practical research done at MIT right now with proven results. It's far more promising than trying to engineer something from scratch. Nature has millions of years worth of R&D to develop its solutions. Why not tap it?
it's bleeding deMISED. it's passed ON. it has ceased to BE. it's exPIRED and gone to meet it's maKAH. it's a STIFF. berift of life it rests in peace -- if you hadn't nailed it to the perch it'd be pushing up the DASIES!
I'm not just being hateful here. I really mean it, I can't take care of them. It's not that I don't like them or anything, it's that taking on a live animal is a responsibility I'm not up to. I never have enough time to play with it. And not enough regularity in my life to take proper care of it.
I can't even feed myself properly most of the time (Bothering to order a salad along with my pizza is a highlight in my weekly nourishment). Having a live animal would mean I couldn't just take off and drive south for a couple of weeks anymore. A live pet is a commitment for something like 15 years (okay, maybe half, as I'd definitely go to the asylum to get an older abandoned one rather than a puppy/kitten/whatever). I guess I'm just immature. It's fine when you have parents to do the work, and you just get the fun. There were always pets around when I was younger.
I tried Sea Monkeys, the ultimate instant carefree pet, and highly disposable too, but they're just too damn small. I can't relate much with little white dots.
Now I've seen this and it definitely looks promising. But I don't want to control it. What I'm really looking for is some random movement in the corner of my eye, that comes with an OFF button. I'd get an Aibo if they weren't so hard to come by. So I'm definitely keeping an eye out for someone to turn this into a product.
Flo out
I hope they have made a Python interface for it...
Very cool. I am wondering how well it handles any sort of realistic terrain. Works well on a nice piece of flat pavement but does it still work on ground with a few more bumps. If it could this would be the ultimate in surveillance. The go anywhere, do anything spy.
whatever. everyone knows dr. doom invented the robotic remote-controlled snake. it sucks though because spiderman figured out how to modify his webslinger to stick to the veno-bot's poisonous scales well before veno-bot could send the city into chaos.
please do your research people.
--
What happens when you outlaw guns
I have my robot snake running on a Coppermine and it won't wake up. Any ideas? =)
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
They had an infinite loop in the control code, so it swallowed its tail and disappeared.
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Did anybody else think this was cool:
S3 was first shown publicly when it served as the ring-bearer at my wedding on June 19th 1999
I bet that caused quite a stir! To hell with doves at the wedding, robot snakes are just so much more fun.
--JT
That's the date it will be published and on the news stand, not the date it was written.
Kintanon
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Robotic snake, huh? Won't be long before we have flying cars, electric sheep that dream, and Atari making a surprise comeback.
Without you I'm one step closer to happiness without violence.
Supposing I wanted to make some computer controlled robotics, what would be the best way to start? Has anyone found a Mindstorms (tm) like system but for controlling stuff hooked up to a computer through a C program. Like uhh
/* 12 volts 120 hertz AC,
// (move the arm 1 degree
// along the x axis until it touches)
// crush it
#include
int main() {
robot arm(arm, 12, 120, 3, 2);
3 axis of movement, 2 other motors
*/
while (!arm.is_touching())
arm.move(1,1);
arm.motor(2, +32767);
return 0;
}
If they ever got this thing to move and act exactly like a snake with the toungue and everything , slap some real looking slimy skin onto it, then it would be a believable snake. Next put some cameras on the eyes.. maybe some other infra red lenses, some form of radar.. who knows, and they could send that thing out into jungle wars like in korea for instance, slithering around like that.. you could have it walk.. err slither right by enemy troops and they wouldnt have a clue.
I think if this guy really got into it.. he could add a half decent processor to it and make it able to swim in water like rivers or swamps or even climb trees. The possibilities with this kind of thing in my opinion are endless.
*This space was intentionally left blank.
"When robot snakes attack," tonight on FOX!
A family of four lost their Aibo last night when, tragically, a loose robot snake ate it. Robot snakes typically need to eat only one Aibo a month to survive, and, once satiated, return to their nests.
Napster-to-go says "Fill and refill your compatible MP3 player", which is a lie. It's not MP3. It's WMA with DRM.