Why study snail motion?
We are studying snail locomotion because it is a unique way of moving over solid surfaces. Unlike most other animals and machines, snails move without the need for rigid mechanisms, wheels, or hinges, and they can traverse a wide range of challenging terrains, even climbing up smooth vertical walls or upside-down across ceilings. The special properties of snail mucus and foot structure allow snails to adhere to vertical and inverted surfaces, even while moving. What do RoboSnail and Robostrider have in common? Robosnail and Robostrider were built to show that what snails and water striders do in nature can be done by machines. They are bare-bones prototypes that duplicate snail and strider motion in the simplest form possible. Each took several months of building, refining, and simplifying. Since they do not have steering or control (besides on/off), they are not robots per se, but we call them Robosnail and Robostrider because these names give them more character. I was inspired to st
