A serial five-bar mechanism based robotic snake exhibiting three kinds of gait

In this paper, we provide the design of a Serial Five Bar Mechanism (named as SFBM-A1) for a snake-like robot. Each five bar mechanism in series is capable of rotating and translating which, in turn, enables the robotic snake to exhibit three kinds of gaits - rectilinear, side shifting and turning on a flat surface. A quaternary link is used as a part of the five-bar mechanism which helps in connecting them in series. The friction anchors (used at both ends of the snake robot) are designed to take active part in producing various gaits by exhibiting a push or pull kind of effect. This is in addition to its usual role of providing stability during motion. The kinematics of the proposed joint mechanism is derived and its working is demonstrated through simulation and experiments.