Robot Snakes Could Help Us Explore Mars

Instead of robots-on-wheels rolling around on Mars, mechanized snakes may soon explore the red planet.

The European Space Agency has asked Norwegian researchers to study whether robot snakes could more effectively explore Martian terrain.

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"Snake robots are terrific at being versatile and being able to navigate a variety of terrains," Kevin Lipkin, who works at The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, told Mashable.

Lipkin said that snake robots can slither over sand, rocks, collapsed buildings, forests, mud, even through water, by moving just like their biological counterparts. Read more...