Physics Buzz: Snakes on an Inclined Plane - 0 views
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Snakes actively adjust their friction, Marvi explained, by modifying the relative angle between their scales and the surface, to adjust the levels of friction according to their needs. Marvi and his colleagues adopted these principles to create Scalybot, an artificial robot designed to climb inclined planes. Scalybot contains scale-like teeth along the bottom of its body, and these teeth can raise or lower depending on what it needs to do to navigate the environment.