In this paper, we develop a new type of snake-like robot using screw-drive units connected by active joints. The screw drive units enable the robot to generate propulsion on any side of the body in contact with environments. Another feature of this robot is the omni-directional mobility by combinations of screws' angular velocities. We also derive a kinematic model and apply it to trajectory tracking control. Furthermore, we design a front-unit-following controller, which is suitable for manual operations. In this control system, operators are required to command only one unit in the front, then commands for the rest of the units are automatically calculated to track the path of the preceding units. Asymptotic convergence of the tracking error of the front-unit-following controller is analyzed based on a Lyapunov approach for the case of constant curvature. The effectiveness of the control method is demonstrated by numerical examples and experiments.Index Terms-snake-like robot, screw drive mechanism, path tracking, search and rescue

In this paper, we develop a prototype of a new snake-like robot using the screw drive mechanism, and design a control system design for trajectory tracking. First, we explain the outline of the snake-like robot using the screw drive units and joint units, as well as the principle of the screw drive mechanism. Next, in order to achieve the trajectory tracking of the robot, we derive a kinematic model. Finally, the validity of the derived model and the effectiveness of the proposed control system are demonstrated by simulations and experiments.

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