The snake makes the most of its locomotive capability by skillfully adapting its flexible slender body to such environments as desert, swampy places, rough stony ground or dense bush where othere animals with limbs as well as artificial terrain vehicles can not easily traverse.
The authors previously studied the snake's serpentine movement and obtained some fundamental knowledge concerning the snake's gliding movement. Their studies so far were limited to the case that a snake moves steadily on an even surface such as on the lawn. A more generalized kinematical theory is needed to analyse the serpentine movement in terrestrial environments other than an idealized even surface treated hitherto.
In this paper, the fundamental kinematical relations, which can be applied for every type of serpentine movement, are derived in the first place by generalizing the relations previously used to analyse a steady straightforward serpentine movement.
Next, among various terrestrial environments, narrow labyrinth composed of two walls facing at the same distance is chosen as the typical and the most fundamental model, and theoretical gliding shape of the snake at the bent corner in this labyrinth is discussed from the kinematical standpoint.
Finally these derived theoretical relations are verified by the zoological experiment using snakes,
Elaphe Quadrivirgata. The feasibility of applying these knowledges to the controlling of artificial snake-like vehicle is also discussed.
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