Decentralized Control Mechanism Underlying Adaptive and Versatile Locomotion of Snakes

Abstract

Snakes have lost their limbs and acquired the ability to move in various environments by using a simple elongated body structure through long-term evolutionary process. Specifically, snakes have various locomotion patterns (scaffold-based locomotion, concertina locomotion etc.) and change them in response to the environment. This ability is likely achieved by a decentralized control mechanism, yet it is still largely unknown. We have attempted to elucidate the decentralized control mechanism through a synthetic approach, an approach to unveil the mechanism through behavioral experiments, mathematical modeling, and robot experiments, for ten years. Here we review our works including some future scopes.