Serpentine Robotic Crawler Having A Continuous Track
First Claim
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1. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
- a crawler body having at least two body segments serially connected by at least one joint to enable the crawler body to articulate and adapt to travel through an operating environment; and
a continuous track operably supported along a perimeter of the crawler body to encompass the crawler body while the serpentine robotic crawler is operated, the continuous track being configured to provide propulsion to the serpentine robotic crawler via a surface interface with the operating environment.
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Abstract
A serpentine robotic crawler includes an articulated body having at least two body segments serially connected and a continuous track operably supported along a perimeter of the articulated body. The serpentine robotic crawler is capable of a variety of movement modes and poses.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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a crawler body having at least two body segments serially connected by at least one joint to enable the crawler body to articulate and adapt to travel through an operating environment; and a continuous track operably supported along a perimeter of the crawler body to encompass the crawler body while the serpentine robotic crawler is operated, the continuous track being configured to provide propulsion to the serpentine robotic crawler via a surface interface with the operating environment. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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an articulated crawler body, having at least two body segments serially connected by at least one joint to form an articulated shape; and a continuous track operably coupled to and encompassing the articulated crawler body, the continuous track having a plurality of pivoting joints, each joint having at least two degrees of freedom to enable the track to conform to the articulated shape of the crawler body. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method for moving a serpentine robotic crawler having an articulated body of at least two serially connected segments along a supporting surface, the method comprising:
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providing a continuous track operably supported along a perimeter of the articulated body; placing a portion of the continuous track in contact with the supporting surface; rotating the continuous track around the perimeter to provide propulsion to the serpentine robotic crawler; and varying the pose of the articulated body to conform to variations in the supporting surface while maintaining the continuous track operably supported along the perimeter. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification