Researchers at the Carnegie Mellon University Biorobotics Laboratory have adapted one of their robo-snakes so that it is automatically wrapped around any object into which it is thrown. When a snake collides, it immediately wraps around its target — in these trials it was a light pole with three branches — and keeps itself on it.
Robots- kites have been developed over the past few years to mimic the actions of their real prototypes. Scientists believe that their way of moving without legs and feet may be ideal for use in hard-to-reach places - for example, in buildings that collapsed as a result of an earthquake. To date, researchers have been able to develop robo-snakes that can move just like real snakes, and even climb objects. And now they have expanded their set of abilities with the ability to wrap themselves around and hold on to any object they were thrown at.
Scientists managed to give the robo-snake this ability using accelerometers built into her body. They are able to detect a sudden stop at the moment when it comes into contact with the object - and then the robot simply executes the curling program embedded in it around this object. The Carnegie Mallon University team is involved in research into the possibilities of using robo-snakes for medical purposes, for production needs, for archaeological purposes, and what is perhaps most important is to assist in search and rescue operations.
It should be noted that there is an important difference between wrapping and strangulation - and the robo-snake does exactly the first, not the second. It does not squeeze its purpose, but simply wraps around it to support its weight. However, it does not take much effort to suggest that the possibility of strangulation can easily be added to the arsenal of a snake, especially given the fact that the project sponsor is the US Army Research Laboratory. The project participants do not disclose exactly what goals the military customer sets for them, and any theories regarding this are currently purely speculative.
