Abstract-- Robotic exploration in extreme environments--such as caves, oceans, and planetary surfaces--poses significant challenges, particularly in locomotion across diverse terrains. Conventional wheeled or legged robots often struggle in these contexts due to surface variability. This paper presents ARCSnake V2, an amphibious, screw-propelled, snake-like robot designed for teleoperated or autonomous locomotion across land, granular media, and aquatic environments. ARCSnake V2 combines the high mobility of hyper-redundant snake robots with the terrain versatility of Archimedean screw propulsion. Key contributions include a water-sealed mechanical design with serially linked screw and joint actuation, an integrated buoyancy control system, and teleoperation via a kinematically-matched handheld controller . The robot's design and control architecture enable multiple locomotion modes--screwing, wheeling, and sidewinding--with smooth transitions between them. Robotic exploration in extreme environments, such as caves, oceans and planetary surfaces, poses significant challenges for the diverse set of terrains [1].

When it comes to robotics, it seems engineers take a lot of inspiration from snakes. In the past, we have brought you snake robots that fix pipelines on the ocean floor, snake-inspired machines that burrow through sand and soil, and snake-like robotics that could even be used in emergencies. Now, a team led by Jessica Burgner-Kahrs, the director of the Continuum Robotics Lab at the University of Toronto Mississauga, is building very slender, flexible, and extensible robots that could be used by doctors to save lives, according to a press release by the institution. They do this by accessing difficult-to-reach places.

A snake-like robot made of giant screws and flexible joints that can travel across hard or loose surfaces and worm into tiny spaces such as tubes and tunnels may be key to exploring the interior of Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. While wheels or legs can traverse flat ground more efficiently, snake-like robots have several advantages. They can conform to tight bends and their small cross section allows them to fit through narrow spaces that would block other robot designs.

Matt Bilsky, founder and CEO of FLX Solutions, discusses the snake-like robot he invented called the FLX BOT. The FLX BOT consists of modular links, each with a joint that can extend and rotate to get into tight spaces. Each link includes sensors including inertial measurement units and a camera. The robot is used to navigate and work in challenging environments, such as above ceilings and within walls. Matt discusses the key innovations of his product as well as his academic and entrepreneurial journey that led him to the FLX BOT.

A snake-like robot that measures 26 feet (8 metres) and is covered in short brush-like hairs has been built by Japanese scientists to help during large-scale disasters. The bizarre machine can climb over walls and rubble and is designed to reach people trapped in hard-to-reach places after earthquakes and tsunamis. The innovative creation is the first snake-shaped robot in the world that can move with its camera-mounted front tip off the floor, which it does by firing a jet of air. A snake-like robot (pictured) that measures 26 feet (8 metres) and is covered in short brush-like hairs has been built to probe disaster zones by Japanese scientists. The robot was designed to assist and respond to crises around the world.