Research Of Snake-Like Robot’s Locomoyion In The Environment With Obstacles

If the applications of snake-like robot were true, the most important things to be solve that the snake-like robot how to move in rugged environment and how to avoid the obstacles. This thesis focuses on how to make the moving snake-robot without collision in environment with obstacles.Winding movement caused by the regular oscillation interaction between the adjacent joints of snake-like robot is very efficient, which is different from the general walking robots movement. Snake robot becomes difficult in complicated environment to keep regular oscillation to produce the winding movement. This paper uses winding movement to plan the snake-like robot’s movement in the environment with obstacles based on geometry, artificial potential method and the improved artificial potential method. Snakehead planning method or the whole body planning of the snake-like robot method is investigated in geometry method. Results of Two types of simulation are analyzed to choose which way is better for snake-like robot locomotion. The obstacles with repulsive force are given high potential energy. And the target with attractive force is given low potential energy in artificial potential method. The snake-like robot reaches the target without collision with obstacles in environment by these force. However, the distance is too longer in the longitudinal direction from the obstacle, which wastes much energy and computing time. Therefore, the artificial potential method is improved for getting better path. When equipotential surfaces which composed of repulsive force are changed round into oval, the path would not only be shorted but also the stability of the movement would be better. The force changed the original snake-like robot force in the artificial potential method. Dynamics analysis of the snake-like robot would be analyzed by considering the moving direction and motion stability when the external force exerting on the snake-like robot. Finally, the 3D dynamic simulation verifies the path planning of snake-like robot in the environment with obstacles.These studies give impetus to the snake-like robot path planning. These obstacle avoidance methods have some reference meanings to the application of snake robot.