Dynamic modeling for locomotion-manipulation of a snake-like robot by using geometric methods

A snake-like robot can locomote in various environments; and it can manipulate objects when one end is fixed. A method of dynamic modeling for locomotion-manipulation of the snake-like robot is developed in order to unify the dynamic equations of two states. A virtual structure for orientation and position and the product-of-exponentials formula describe the mechanism and the kinematics of the robot. The dynamics of the robot are established in a Riemannian manifold. Furthermore, the dynamics of manipulation can be directly degenerated from those of locomotion. This method unifies the dynamics of locomotion and manipulation of the snake-like robot in the differential geometry formulation. Finally, simulation results of the method are presented.</p