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Snake Robot Automatically Wraps Itself Around Object When Thrown

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Biorobotics Lab have adapted one of their robotic snakes to automatically wrap itself around an object after being thrown. Upon impact, the snake immediately wraps its body around the target – in test cases, these include a light pole and tree branch - and holds on, supporting itself. Using the accelerometers inside each module of the snake robot, the Carnegie Mellon team was able to detect when the robot hit a pole or branch after being thrown, and have the robot automatically perch on contact. The project is supported by the Army Research Lab's Robotics Collaborative Technology Alliance.