The arms carry cameras and lights for inspection. These arms are, however, too large to enter the small truss structure openings. A smaller and more dexterous arm was needed to perform inspection tasks in highly restricted regions. JPL has developed a serpentine robot to test the feasibility of robotic inspection of such restricted areas. The robot is 1.5 inches in diameter, approximately 3 foot long, weights 6 lbs., and has 11 degrees of freedom.
All joints are direct-drive motor controlled, and all motors are mounted internally.
Inspection capability is provided by a fiber-optics borescope embedded inside the arm. This borescope transfers images to a camera at the base of the arm and illuminates the inspection site. The goal is to use this robot as an inspection tool to be picked up by one of the large manipulators. Algorithms have been developed to guide this arm through small openings in such a way that the rest of the arm automatically follows the tip's path, thus avoiding collisions with the environment. This technology can be used in industry and medical applications.