In recent years, snake-inspired locomotion has garnered increasing interest in the bio-inspired robotics community. This positive trend is largely due to the unique and highly effective gaits utilized by snakes to traverse various terrains and obstacles. These gaits make use of a snake's hyper-redundant body structure to adapt to the terrain and maneuver through tight spaces. Snake-inspired robots utilizing rectilinear motion, one of the primary gaits observed in natural snakes, have demonstrated favorable results on various terrains. However, previous variations of the rectilinear gait were inefficient in cyclic displacement. These gaits generated vertical waves traveling along the length of the robot. Generating these waves required significant joint energy for relatively small horizontal displacements. This paper presents analytical and experimental results for a rectilinear gait, which demonstrates significant linear displacement for relatively low joint effort. The low effort gait functions by propagating a wave through the length of the robot via expansions and contractions of the body segments, propelling the robot platform forward. The low effort rectilinear gait is demonstrated on a robot platform that incorporates high speed linear motion and variable traction through friction. We also report the results of a case study showcasing the practical benefits of the low effort gait.
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