Snake robots could aid in rescues
Published: April 15, 2006
For most people, snakes seem unpleasant or even threatening. But Howie Choset sees in their delicate movements a way to save lives.
The 37-year-old Carnegie Mellon University professor has spent years developing snakelike robots he hopes will eventually slither through collapsed buildings in search of victims trapped after natural disasters or other emergencies.
In recent weeks, Choset and some of his students made what he said was an industry breakthrough: enabling the articulated, remote-controlled devices to climb up and around pipes.
Rescue workers say such robots would be useful because current equipment has limited mobility and usually has to be lowered into fallen structures, Choset said.
“Right now, the way to get to these trapped survivors is to pull the rubble out one rock at a time,” Choset said. “So our dream is to have the snake robot thread through this collapsed rubble and get to victims more quickly.”
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