Snake-arm robot

The high number of degrees of freedom allows the arm to “snake” along a path or around an obstacle – hence the name “snake-arm”.

This is an emerging field and as such there is no agreement on the best term for this class of robot.

Examples of possible introduction axes include mounting a snake-arm on a remote controlled vehicle or an industrial robot or designing a bespoke a linear actuator.

Other features which are usually (but not always) associated with snake-arm robots: A snake-arm robot is not to be confused with a snakebot which mimics the biomorphic motion of a snake in order to slither along the ground.

The ability to reach into confined spaces lends itself to many applications involving access problems.