A Locomotion Algorithm for an Apodal Robot to Climb and Descend Steps

Snake robots are one of the most versatile kinds of modular robots. Due to their ability to perform different gait patterns, such robots have been used in multiple constrained locomotion scenarios, especially those which are inaccessible to other robots. This work summarizes the snake robots’ mechanical principles, applies them to the construction of an apodal modular robot with pitch-yaw joints and simulates its locomotion over a single stair step using two different Finite State Machine based algorithms. Both cases achieve successfully the desired movement but only the second algorithm complies with NBR 9050, which regulates the construction of stairs and steps in Brazil.