Modeling on Curved Surfaces and a Hybrid 3-D Gait of Snake-Like Robots

This paper delves into the 3-D dynamic modeling of a passive wheeled snake-like robot on curved surfaces, highlighting a significant shift from existing research’s focus on 2-D planar models. Snake-like robots, characterized by multiple degrees of freedom and various gaits, exhibit substantial potential for complex 3-D movements. A new friction model tailored for curved surfaces is proposed, and we design a novel hybrid 3-D gait that amalgamates different basic gaits from different segments of the robot, optimizing its movement ascending curved slopes. Extensive simulation experiments are conducted to compare the efficiencies and velocities of the hybrid gait with traditional basic gaits. The experimet results demonstrate the effectiveness of the 3-D model and the adaptability of distinct gaits on curved surfaces.