CSL RT Chien Lecture: Kristin Pettersen

Title: From snake robotics research to a new class of marine robots

In this talk, I will show how our research on snake robotics have led to a new class of marine robots.

Specifically, I will discuss how control theory has made it possible to analyse and understand, and thus to design and control, efficient robots for autonomous operations. I will present the motivation and foundations of our research on snake robots, as well as our most recent results on snake robot control, and how this has led to a new class of marine robots in the subsea industry.

Snake robots are motivated by the long, slender and flexible body of biological snakes, which allows them to move in virtually any environment on land and in water. Since the snake robot is essentially a manipulator arm that can move by itself, it has a number of interesting applications including firefighting applications and search and rescue operations. In water, the robot is a highly flexible and dexterous manipulator arm that can swim by itself like a sea snake. This highly flexible snake-like mechanism has excellent accessibility properties; it can for instance access virtually any location on subsea energy installations, move into the confined areas of shipwrecks, inside ice caves, or be used for observation of biological systems. Furthermore, not only can the swimming manipulator access narrow openings and confined areas, but it can also carry out highly complex manipulation tasks at this location since manipulation is an inherent capability of the system.