engineering

Snake-arm robot

Snake-arm robot is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Snake-arm robot rather than just read about it. In short: A snake-arm robot is a slender hyper-redundant manipulator. The high number of degrees of freedom allows the arm to “snake” along a path or around an obstacle – hence the name “snake-arm”.

Key takeaways

Snake-arm robot belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Snake-arm robot to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Snake-arm robot from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A snake-arm robot is a slender hyper-redundant manipulator. The high number of degrees of freedom allows the arm to “snake” along a path or around an obstacle – hence the name “snake-arm”.

Definition

Snake-arm robots are also described as continuum robots and elephant's trunk robots although these descriptions are restrictive in their definitions and cannot be applied to all snake-arm robots.

A continuum robot is a continuously curving manipulator, much like the arm of an octopus. An elephant's trunk robot is a good descriptor of a continuum robot. This has generally been associated with whole arm manipulation – where the entire arm is used to grasp and manipulate objects, in the same way that an elephant would pick up a ball. This is an emerging field and as such there is no agreement on the best term for this class of robot. Snake-arm robots are often used in association with another device. The function of the other device is to introduce the snake-arm into the confined space. 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. In this case the shape of the arm is coordinated with the linear movement of the introduction axis enabling the arm to follow a path into confined spaces. Other features which are usually (but not always) associated with snake-arm robots:

Continuous diameter along the length of the arm Self-supporting Either tendon-driven or pneumatically controlled in most cases. 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.

Applications The ability to reach into confined spaces lends itself to many applications involving access problems. The list below is not intended to be an exhaustive list of possibilities but merely an indication of where these robots are being used or developed for use.

Industry

Nuclear Decommissioning Repair and maintenance Aerospace Manufacture and assembly: inside wing boxes, jet engines and ducts. Surface Preparation: wielding pneumatic sanders for all stages of surface finishing prior to final paint application. Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Automotive Manufacture: Snake-arm robots allow structures to be assembled in a different way.

Security and defence

Bomb disposal and counter terrorism Search and rescue

Robotic surgery

Endoscopy Colonoscopy Neurosurgery

History of Snake-arm robots Tensor arm manipulator, invented in 1968 by V.C. Anderson, commonly called the Scripps Tensor Arm, is a spine-like elephant trunk arm. Control is via a large number nylon microfilaments. ANAT (Articulated Nimble Adaptable Trunk) AMI-100, invented in 1997 by Charles Khairallah, is a modular hyper-redundant snake-like industrial robot arm. OC Robotics, a British company founded in 1997 is one of the worlds leading manufacturers of wire driven snake arm technologies. Temple Allen Industries, a US company founded in 2003, makes cable-driven EMMA (Easily Manipulated Mechanical Arm) systems, some of which are robotic and some of which are entirely pneumatic. The majority of their customer are aerospace companies.

References

External links Snake-arm robots are currently being researched by several major universities:

University of Toronto: A major research lab for continuum robotics. Cornell University: Student Project team with goal to design and fabricate a class of robotic arms that best resemble the strength, fluidity, precision, and dexterity of a snake Carnegie Mellon: Research into various hyper-redundant robots including snake-arms Clemson: Research into elephant's trunk robots Mississippi State University: Research into designing, analyzing, and building continuum robots. University of Nottingham: Research into continuum robots for in-situ repair applications Snake-arm robots are being made commercially by:

OC Robotics: manufacturing for the aerospace sector (automated assembly of aircraft), security (robotics for counter-terrorism), nuclear (decommissioning and asset management), and other industries (inspection and maintenance).

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Snake-arm robot

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Snake-arm robot claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Snake-arm robot before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Snake-arm robot ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Snake-arm robot

In research: Snake-arm robot appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Snake-arm robot in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Snake-arm robot is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Robotic manipulators, Robotic snakes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Snake-arm robot outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Snake-arm robot in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Snake-arm robot means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Snake-arm robot out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Snake-arm robot in simple terms?

A snake-arm robot is a slender hyper-redundant manipulator. The high number of degrees of freedom allows the arm to “snake” along a path or around an obstacle – hence the name “snake-arm”.

Why does Snake-arm robot matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Snake-arm robot?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Snake-arm robot.