Snake robots are characterized by their ability to navigate through small
spaces and loose terrain by utilizing efficient cyclic forms of locomotion.
Soft snake robots are a subset of these robots which utilize soft, compliant
actuators to produce movement. Prior work on soft snake robots has primarily
focused on planar gaits, such as undulation. More efficient spatial gaits, such
as sidewinding, are unexplored gaits for soft snake robots. We propose a novel
means of constructing a soft snake robot capable of sidewinding, and introduce
the Helical Inflating Soft Snake Robot (HISSbot). We validate this actuation
through the physical HISSbot, and demonstrate its ability to sidewind across
various surfaces. Our tests show robustness in locomotion through low-friction
and granular media.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, to be published in RoboSoft 202