A modular and waterproof snake robot joint mechanism with a novel force/torque sensor

This paper presents the design of a waterproof and mechanically robust joint module for the snake robot Mamba. The main contribution of the module is a custom-designed force/torque sensor based on strain gauges, which enables the module to measure forces and torques acting on its joint shaft. The ability to measure joint constraint forces and torques enables a snake robot to estimate the external contact forces from its environment, which is important for intelligent and adaptive snake robot locomotion. The paper presents experimental results which illustrate the performance of the force/torque sensor.