Snakelike robots that can find trapped survivors under earthquake rubble are being developed by researchers in Japan.



The robots can get into narrow places and their long, thin bodies disperse weight to prevent collapse of damaged structures.



One prototype called Kohga, developed by Fumitoshi Matsuno of Tokyo’s University of Electro-Communications, is more than six feet long and is propelled by belts similar to tank tracks.

“The survival rate of trapped people is said to plunge after 72 hours, and rescue operations are a race against time,” Matsuno told AFP.



Kohga and Moira



Kohga can be dismantled into about 10 parts for transport to disaster sites.



“It is very important that rescue robots can be transported easily,” Matsuno says.



The radio-controlled robot has a built-in camera and can be divided into 10 parts for transportation to disaster zones.



Another prototype called Moira, developed by Kyoto University associate professor Koichi Osuka, is slightly smaller and has tracks on its sides to move powerfully through rubble.



Space exploration



Japan is a hotbed of rescue robot research because the country is vulnerable to large earthquakes, such as the one that struck Kobe in January 1995 and killed more than 6,000 people — many of whom died after being trapped beneath rubble.



But snake robots aren’t confined to the country — or even Earth.



NASA is developing snakebots that can independently dig in loose extraterrestrial soil, slither into cracks in a planet’s surface and plan routes over or around obstacles.
More here.