Content area

Abstract

This thesis presents a unified modeling and simulation framework for analyzing sidewinding and tumbling locomotion of the COBRA snake robot across rigid, compliant, and granular terrains. A contact-implicit formulation is used to model distributed frictional interactions during sidewinding, and validated through MATLAB Simscape simulations and physical experiments on rigid ground and loose sand. To capture terrain deformation effects, Project Chrono’s Soil Contact Model (SCM) is integrated with the articulated multibody dynamics, enabling prediction of slip, sinkage, and load redistribution that reduce stride efficiency on deformable substrates. For high-energy rolling locomotion on steep slopes, the Chrono DEM Engine is used to simulate particle-resolved granular interactions, revealing soil failure, intermittent lift-off, and energy dissipation mechanisms not captured by rigid models. Together, these methods span real-time control-oriented simulation and high-fidelity granular physics. Results demonstrate that rigid-ground models provide accurate short-horizon motion prediction, while continuum and particle-based terrain modeling becomes necessary for reliable mobility analysis in soft and highly dynamic environments. This work establishes a hierarchical simulation pipeline that advances robust, terrain-aware locomotion for robots operating in challenging unstructured settings.

Details

1010268
Title
Contact-Implicit Modeling and Simulation of a Snake Robot on Compliant and Granular Terrain
Number of pages
101
Publication year
2026
Degree date
2026
School code
0160
Source
MAI 87/6(E), Masters Abstracts International
ISBN
9798270246204
Committee member
Hutchinson, Seth; Aksaray, Derya
University/institution
Northeastern University
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
University location
United States -- Massachusetts
Degree
M.S.
Source type
Dissertation or Thesis
Language
English
Document type
Dissertation/Thesis
Dissertation/thesis number
32401762
ProQuest document ID
3285836760
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/contact-implicit-modeling-simulation-snake-robot/docview/3285836760/se-2?accountid=208611
Copyright
Database copyright ProQuest LLC; ProQuest does not claim copyright in the individual underlying works.
Database
ProQuest One Academic