We’ve been following the development of Carnegie Mellon’s robotic snake for some time now. As much as it’s a brilliant piece of technology, it’s also downright scary how realistically it can slither across the ground or up a tree. But it turns out that’s no where near as unsettling as its latest trick.
Using a series of accelerometers located inside each of the snake’s modular segments, the robot can now be thrown onto a branch or pole and automatically grab on without falling. And given the research is being partly supported by the US Army, it’s a safe assumption that off-video these snakes are being thrown at mannequins’ necks as a sort of absolutely terrifying strangulation grenade. [Carnegie Mellon Biorobotics Laboratory via Automaton]