How Robots May Mimic Lizards and Snakes When Traveling on Sand

Make sure to tread lightly on soft ground. Researchers have taken a closer look at how different animals respond to different terrain, and have found that soft steps and large feet allow animals to navigate very loose soil and sand.

In this latest study, the researchers created a test-bed in order to test the performance of different animals and a hexapedal robot over loose ground. This allowed them to see what particular features may allow robots to better navigate a sandy environment.

"It's important to understand the biomechanics and controls of good movement," said Daniel Goldman, one of the researchers, in a news release. "If we can find out how these animals solve the problem we can make better robots."

In all, five animals were studied in the paper, chosen to reflect different native habitats, body plans and styles of fast movement across loose terrain. The researchers also used a six legged robot and a computer simulation of the robot to model aspects of the locomotion. This particular approach is key to robotic design.

"The pioneers of flight looked at different wing designs in a wind tunnel, and now we can do this with robotic design," said Goldman. "We'd love to be able to explore, for example, Mars really quickly-but the robots we have are relatively heavy and slow. One of the major problems is that they're stymied by changes in the ground they're moving on-these results offer an insight in where to develop things next."

Currently, the researchers are investigating how animals such as lizards and snakes move over land with heterogeneities, such as boulders.

The findings are published in the journal Bioinspiration & Biomimetics.

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