Patent ID: 8393422

Claim:
A serpentine robotic crawler, comprising: a first frame having a first continuous track rotatably supported by the first frame; a second frame having a second continuous track rotatably supported by the second frame; and a linkage arm coupling the first and second frames together in tandem, the linkage arm having a first elbow-like joint formed by an interface between the first frame and a first linkage member, a second elbow-like joint formed by an interface between the second frame and a second linkage member, a first wrist-like actuated linkage coupled to the first linkage member, wherein the first wrist-like actuated linkage includes actuated joints that provide rotational movement about a longitudinal axis and bending movement about two different lateral axes, a second wrist-like actuated linkage coupled to the second linkage member, wherein the second wrist-like actuated linkage includes actuated joints that provide rotational movement about a longitudinal axis and bending movement about two different lateral axes, and an actuated third elbow-like joint formed by a coupling of the first wrist-like actuated linkage and the second wrist-like actuated linkage, wherein the third elbow-like joint provides bending movement about a lateral axis, wherein the first linkage member, via first elbow-like joint, is positionable to allow the first wrist-like actuated linkage to be out of plane from the first frame, and wherein the second linkage member, via the second elbow-like joint, is positionable to allow the second wrist-like actuated linkage to be out of plane from the second frame.