Carnegie Mellon’s robotic snake is the harbinger of a slithering, metal future

It may be just circuits and alloy , but this automatonlike snake from Carnegie Mellon University’sBiorobotics Labwill give you flashbacks to the hydrobots from Terminator Salvation . lay eyes on the robot that could someday be used for surgeries and hunt - and - rescue .

Carnegie Mellon hopes that these serpentine robot will someday be adjust for crisis easing and have medical app — the snakebot ’s wriggling pattern appropriate it to navigate small area that schematic golem may be vexed by . For lesson , the snakebot could be adapt to findearthquake victims :

Snake automaton have many more degrees of freedom than conventional robots and rescue machinery , while at the same time have a lowly cross - sectional area . These many degrees of freedom enable serpent robot to thread through tightly tamp bulk reaching locations otherwise untouchable to ceremonious automaton and people , while at the same time , not disturbing the surrounding areas . This is critical in search and rescue trading operations where gravid pieces of debris become fragile make - break support structures .