![\"Snake\"](\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/\u2022Chen-Li-snake_high-rez-1024x681.jpeg\")
\n\u201cWe look to these creepy creatures for movement inspiration because they\u2019re already so adept at stably scaling obstacles,\u201d says Chen Li<\/a>, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering who led the study.<\/p>\n Li and his team studied how the variable kingsnake climbed steps in their lab, challenging the reptile by altering step height and surface friction.<\/p>\n After analyzing their videos, the researchers created a robot to mimic the animals\u2019 movements.<\/p>\n At first, the robot snake had difficulty staying stable on large steps, so the researchers inserted a suspension system into each body segment, allowing it to compress against the surface when needed. This stabilized the robot, enabling it to climb steps as high as 38 percent of its body length with a nearly 100 percent success rate.<\/p>\n \u201cThe animal is still far superior, but these results are promising,\u201d says Li.<\/p>\n Next, the team will test and improve the snake robot for even more complex 3D terrain with more unstructured large obstacles.<\/p>\n![\"Snake](\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/WKZ4648-300x200.jpeg\")
They found that snakes partitioned their bodies into three sections: front and rear body wriggled back and forth on the steps like a wave, while the middle-body section remained stiff, hovering. The wriggling portions prevented the snake from tipping over.<\/p>\n
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