Robot Snake - Computerphile

[@patrickconnolly1809]

"The snake is the most famous part of the lab." With that beard, I think we both know that's not the case.

[@Qbe_Root]

Of course snake robots would be developed in Python

[@Bob_Burton]

Unless it was a "sea" snake

[@BTheBlindRef]

I don't even like Python, but if it was anything else in this specific case, I would be very disappointed...

[@rich1051414]

@@BTheBlindRef I don't like python for abandoning brackets for tabs/spaces, but it is a fine language otherwise.

[@AldoInza]

If they did it in LISP it would be a lot less threatening. Because it would go thhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[@stefanluginger3682]

A „Sea“ snake 😀 made my day

[@bo_broadwater]

Holy cow! I knew Henry when he was a postdoc and I was a PhD student at Georgia Tech. My mind was blown when I saw such a familiar face on one of my fav KZbin channels 😄. Henry, if you see this, I hope all is well man!

[@DaveWhoa]

his beard wins though right?

[@Teck_1015]

I like the way this guy communicates. More of him if possible please!?

[@ftfgfghfg]

I find him obnoxious. The way he says "we don't have that 'yet'" gets to me. You won't have that....

[@MasterLapin]

@@ftfgfghfg I mean what is he supposed to say?

[@EmptyGlass99]

Yeah his enthusiasm and knowledge shines through. I almost stopped noticing his beard.

[@JarrydNielsenLMAO]

seems a nice guy, but the duty-cycle on his beard is a bit off :|

[@davidogodong9738]

Jarryd Nielsen so true

[@markroxor]

Wish everyone would understand this joke ROFL!

[@mtnslgl]

The whole video I was just staring at his beard in fascination

[@josso1]

that is definitely a beard that says: "I design robot snakes"

[@SuperWeedPower]

A man of culture is what I witness

[@BlueyMcPhluey]

I want to know if there's any functionality behind the missing piece (food scraps don't get caught etc) or if it's purely for the aesthetic

[@Reth_Hard]

Ctrl+F "Beard" "Error: Buffer Overflow"

[@DFsdf3443d]

respectable beard.

[@dermathze700]

Well at least we can agree on the fact that it's a beard.

[@tommihommi1]

the hole in the middle of the beard is so that the snake around his neck isn't completely hidden

[@Sirenhound]

@@dermathze700 I disagree with that. It's clearly *two* beards!

[@hjembrentkent6181]

Strictly speaking it's a TROL beard

[@AlthenaLuna]

@Swiss Cheese This. When they meet in the middle, then it'll be a single, unified beard.

[@jtveg]

Fascinating research. I hope he gets that grant for the snake. 🐍

[@klaxoncow]

I hope he gets a grant for that beard as well.

[@zeikjt]

A snake necklace? Very cool.

[@Dinoguy1000]

A snecklace, if you will.

[@lucydeddy6630]

Ye its nice to have cute snek wrap around u but not danger noodle tho

[@TheSmkngun]

I don't know what's the weirdest part about this video: the beard or the snake crawling through it or the guy inspired by this beard loving snake to build a robot version of it. Oh my head hurts!

[@misad6308]

Man, I love it. Not only a fascinating project and a very informative video, but that snake is totally chill about the whole thing. Happy, even!

[@DirtyPoul]

Very fascinating video. I kept asking myself why you'd want to make snake robots, so it was great to have that explanation at the end.

[@vojtechjanku2534]

I haven’t watched a Computerphile video in a while, but I clicked on this and stared with amazement for the whole twelwe minutes. This guy was just constantly spitting out a stream of interesting things from between his epic beards. Please give us more of him"

[@chefRyan38]

This guy communicates very well, would love to see more of him

[@aaronv.714]

Dude, is this guy a professional voice announcer? Should be! Another cool video, another cool scientist.

[@ddegn]

"Anyone can string a bunch of snake motors together to make a snake robot." I understand why he said that, but controlling and powering a bunch of servos is non-trivial. (Though I suppose it is trivial for a roboticist.) I haven't tried a snake robot yet, but my hexapods were a challenge to power and control. Thanks for the video Conputerphile.

[@KuraIthys]

That snake there, just nonchalantly acting like a necklace the whole time... XD

[@solidmage]

More videos with this person!

[@harrytsang1501]

That sassy snake on his neck reminds me of my cat. Also very demanding of me and need to be involved in whatever I do

[@black_platypus]

:3

[@edminchau811]

There is another movement mode related to the concertina mode: coil and spring. We see this when a cobra strikes. I started building serpentine robots back in the mid 90s, and I didn't have access to these cool servos. Instead, I used NiTiNOL tensile springs, four per universal joint. They're pretty slow to cool and stretch, but respond very quickly and contract when you put current through them to heat them up, and can move several hundred times their own mass. They act a lot like muscles. I also didn't have Python back then in the olden days, and was limited by my budget to using 8 bit CPUs, in particular the 8085. I've spent quite a bit of time developing an AI system that operates on 8 bit CPUs or microcontrollers, which I call FUNGAL - the FUzzy logic/ Neural network /Genetic Algorithm Language. It has taken me nearly 30 years, and of course Moore's law has long passed me by, but I believe we have only scratched the surface of what an 8 bit computer can do. Sometime in the next few years I'll release the language so other people can play with it on microcontrollers or retrocomputers.

[@MrDaanjanssen]

He has got a great voice for narrating. Maybe some planet earth style robot snake in the wild documentary?

[@Yupppi]

Looks like the snake is so comfortable with him, it rather sticks to him and observes than tries to find a place that isn't spinning wildly all the time.

[@ftfgfghfg]

Makes you appreciate how basic robotics is compared to animals

[@madhoyen]

If you're more interested in robotic snakes, there is a Norwegian company called Eelume developing them for off-shore oil and gas applications

[@krisr5497]

What a cool project. Thanks for sharing!

[@harriehausenman8623]

This gotta be the most awesomest dude on the planet. And suddenly my fear of snakes is just gone! More plz :-)

[@Nomadjackalope]

That was a really neat note @ 10:22 Great video!

[@gloverelaxis]

that's wild that snake-like locomotion evolved independently 24 times!

[@gildedbear5355]

just in lizards! not sure if it's evolved in other quadrupeds, though eels (and other eel-like fish) might count too.

[@iliakorvigo7341]

Some amphibians have evolved the trait, too.

[@mytelevisionisdead]

What a knowledgeable guy, very informative video! Fantastic

[@RangeWilson]

They should put those snakes on a plane... to do maintenance in tight quarters, just like he said! Then they could put a robot Samuel L. Jackson on there to keep an eye on the snakes.

[@Ashkenya]

But there are no tunnels in air

[@AnimilesYT]

2:32 He's obviously not a programmer xD

[@kinghados]

now i have to worry about snakes in my walls listening to me LMFAO

[@eeramzi]

I guess you need "python" to get it to move better ;)

[@LibertarianLeninistRants]

this is the coolest guy ever

[@UberMathNerd]

Holy crap! Henry, you're on computerphile! I recognized your voice before I saw you!!!

[@Escrublet]

Love this dude

[@davidb5205]

Where is he from? I can't place the accent. It's vaguely North American, Minnesota-ish.

[@braincruser]

I heard the same accent in a movie once. The movie was called Gremlins 2 :D

[@iconoptixx]

Ironically like Snake from the Simpsons

[@puskajussi37]

According to the description Akron, Ohio

[@recreant359]

It’s a northern US accent. Ohio would fit. They stretch their Os and As.

[@DannyOvox3]

David Boucard Chicago

[@frasermanley9903]

Pleated beard, he's taking Warcraft Dwarfs to the next level? Respect

[@DeclanMBrennan]

Very interesting. I think I spotted one of Theo Jansen's Strandbeests on the bookshelf.

[@jeremyfoor7590]

Snakes are my #1 fear. I hate them and they give me the creeps like nothing else ever has....but this video was fascinating. After the video I can understand why a snake-like robot would be beneficial. Dr. Astley was very well spoken and you can tell he has a real interest and enthusiasm for his work which is admirable.

[@EmptyGlass99]

Really interesting clip. This guy knows his snakes.

[@rockyrivermushrooms529]

So that guy just hangs out with a snake all day and tries to figure out how it works? Pretty cool job.

[@DebabrataAcharya93]

I want to understand his beard.

[@alialhusain]

This guy is so cool!

[@mannion1985]

Strong beard ,cool job, engaging tone.

[@torakku]

what kind of snake is that? its cute 🐍

[@Computerphile]

I think he said it's a Taiwanese Beauty Snake but I may have misremembered >Sean

[@devrim-oguz]

Why can't I have a professor like this who walks around in the hallway with a snake on his neck?

[@tollutollu]

that sure is a unique vocal pattern this fella has.

[@bl8896]

This guy could probably make big $ doing voice overs - his vocal tones and annunciations are something

[@IncendiaHL]

7:33 “And when we run, our limb becomes springy” Yeah, I get you man!

[@DB-xw9nd]

Not many places where you can bring your own snake to work: very cool.

[@naveen_devinda]

i take my snake and its two eggs everywhere i go..

[@kapa1611]

a lot of snakes are gonna lose their jobs xD

[@mekafinchi]

What type of snake does he have on his shoulders?

[@kentw.england2305]

More from this guy!

[@Dhamian]

You never told us the snake's name :(

[@matthewtalafous2004]

He’s American, but you can tell he hangs out with... non-Americans? I only say that because I’m awful with accents and people will get pissed

[@scarboroughyork]

A Lake Michigan area accent? after being in England too long? ;-) Great subject matter! very interesting, and fun, let us know when it's on batteries and escapes!

[@Zigazagoon]

That's one crazy beard. I low key like it.

[@happydays3300]

The cable management for the snake is sexy !!!!!

[@tomato6460]

I love snakes so much

[@crazedbrazy617bh]

@10:21 I thought he was going to say "the ultimate end game with this is snakes on a plane"

[@svsguru2000]

He sounds like Jon from Linus Tech Tips.

[@ZachHixsonTutorials]

I was thinking the same thing! What kind of accent is that?

[@iconoptixx]

Ironically like Snake from the Simpsons

[@superefireballx]

I KNEW I KNEW THAT VOICE

[@SolidlyStated]

He remind me of Taran.

[@Yobleck]

@@ZachHixsonTutorials Carolinas I think

[@MrBeanbones]

More videos about robotics plz!!!

[@CalvinHikes]

"How about you, Sideburns?"

[@chaoslab]

Double sine waves are allot of fun. Cue sine scroller...

[@cliu20000728yahoocom]

are the the LEDs (light.emitting.diode) necessary?

[@TheLazyLazer]

ey, snake guy is pretty cool

[@elenavie]

Wow realy nice robot!!!:)

[@pedroafonso5327]

i think to solve the problem with energy, u can make a tiny battery for each one 'cell' of snake, and each will works separated, its a lot of battery, but its a thing what u can think about.

[@DancingRain]

But... shouldn't a robot snake be programmed in Python?

[@TEXASF1ERCE]

I'm too busy paying attention to this guys beard and the sound of his voice

[@_Swink]

Those mutton chops are revolutionary

[@MWNewey]

I'd like to see him do another video with a Boa constrictor.

[@ianmoone3382]

You should buy an end card with suggested videos.

[@danieltlang]

What a cool voice!

[@dreammfyre]

The origin story of Snake Man from Megaman 3.

[@simovihinen875]

I think the most important goal of their research must be to eventually perfectly recreate Snake Man's stage from Mega Man 3.

[@ybbok]

Great video, great beard...

[@yesterdaysrose5446]

Sure, Snakes are good at going through cramped corridors. But I think Computer Science should turn their attention back to the noblest yet humblest of reptiles, the Turtles. Computer Science has modeled basic turtle movement on surface - turns, movement back and forth, and ultimately inconsequential things like holding a pen. But millions of years of evolution prepared Turtles to be some of the most epic tunnel diggers of the Reptilekind. Why is this not modelled yet? That's the real interesting field for scientists who want to break new ground.

[@entacademics5300]

Sort of a new x-men !! A combination of Wolverine who has snake powers.

[@DerekFolan]

Can you make muscle cells, then link together like chain mail into any shape. If each cell starts null unnamed then ai could name each cell later and then learn to move in a simulated environment

[@avibank]

Are snakes OP?

[@supercellresourceshack3942]

is that snake in around his neck robot?

[@m333x]

I learnt nothing from this video because I was just looking at his beard the whole time, very interesting.

[@HarshitSinha1102]

A guy with a forest beard with a snake around his neck researching in Computer Science. The world can be weird sometimes!!

[@Uncle_Yam]

Is electronic voting still a bad idea?

[@DJayDiamond]

It's like his face has decided to grow roots

[@kuronosan]

I thought snakes did something with their relaxing/stressing their scales to help them move too.

[@ASilentS]

You're referring to the mode of snake propulsion called rectilinear locomotion. The scales don't move themselves but they are shaped to engage with the ground to resist backward motion allowing forward movement.

[@jacquesfall8117]

You seem to be a bit distracted by the beard. 6:16

[@kuronosan]

@@jacquesfall8117 Yes, indeed.

[@pakxo.]

With that shaved space in his beard i can see two versions of his face beard/beardless

[@Max_Flashheart]

Snake Beard the new meta

[@supahfly_uk]

That is some mesmerising face fungus he has.

[@Afropavo]

How can I contact this researcher?

[@jamesyo93]

Was the snake on your neck real?

[@Skeleton-bs7zy]

The robot will do the the same thing every time!!! Yay come back to me at first robotics tell my team that

[@borisdorofeev5602]

Majestic Mutton Chops

[@daltongrowley5280]

Im surprised that they use servos instead of a series of hydraulic sacs.

[@tantumDicoQuodCogito]

Machine learning can help you, remeber, copy to the nature, natural selection is like machine learning algorimits.

[@touisbetterthanpi]

I feel like you’d want to use pneumatics for snake belly movement.

[@JustMe-kp8ik]

now he needs to get it to play snake

[@beachboardfan9544]

His chin looks cold