JAYFORCE

Howie Choset, professor of robotics at Carnegie Mellon University, has some snakes he’s named Uncle Sam, Betsy Ross, Pepperoni, and Monster Max. His snakes never cease to amaze him; as they climb poles, cross ponds, and burrow into tight places.

And he doesn’t even like snakes like that.

Choset’s snakes are better described (in Businessweek) as ‘snake bots.’ The reptilian bots consist of constructed joints with tiny motors, allowing them to move like real snakes – borrowing, side-winding, and the like. Why has he spent years doing this? Well, his snake bots, though still a way from commercial launch, have probed the human heart; and others in design ‘could be used in search and rescue after earthquakes and that slither along pipes at power plants to detect cracks and leaks that could cause accidents.’

Please. Oh please… could we… maybe get these ‘snakes’ on a plane? Yeah, you might groan; but not such a bad idea is it?

– @ojones1

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