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Tanaka Lab
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The lab studies control methods that make snake robots move intelligently.
AboutAbout the lab
Control that makes snake robots move intelligently
The Tanaka Lab studies control methods that make "snake robots," which imitate real snakes, move intelligently.
The lab develops almost all of its robot hardware itself, so students get hands-on experience with every part of snake robots, from building them to making them move.
Recently, the lab has also been actively working on applications such as rescue, equipment inspection, cleaning, and massage.
Key terms
- Snake robot
- A robot that imitates a snake. Although snakes have no limbs, they can move over rough terrain, climb trees, and swim underwater.
- Control
- A way of achieving intelligent robot motions, such as climbing steps and avoiding obstacles, through clever ways of moving the robot.
- Tracking
- The robot's head moving along a trajectory decided in advance.
NewsLab news
Lab open to visitors at the Open Campus (11/22)
A master's student received the Young Presenter Excellence Fellow Award from the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Jointly developed and unveiled "Yukadaisho," a snake robot for under-floor inspection
ResearchResearch themes
The lab studies control methods that make snake robots move intelligently, aiming for a wide variety of intelligent motions and for traversing more complex terrain. The suitable control methods and hardware change with each application, so there are many research themes.
*Illustrative imageControl of intelligent snake robot motion
The lab develops control that makes the robot's head follow an arbitrary trajectory on terrain such as flat surfaces, curved cylindrical surfaces, and steps. While tracking, the robot also avoids tipping over and avoids obstacles (with its whole body, not only its head), and can jump, all achieved through control.
*Illustrative imageSnake robot that gives massages
This snake robot wraps around a person's body and gives a massage. Using force sensors, the control makes the contact force match a target value, while keeping the robot from bumping into the person anywhere other than the area being treated.
*Illustrative imageSnake robot that cleans
This snake robot wipes floors with mops attached at several places on its underside. It can clean while climbing over steps and avoiding obstacles, and it detects contact with obstacles using touch sensors.
*Illustrative imageRobot for indoor exploration and rescue
The lab develops a wirelessly remote-controlled snake robot for indoor exploration and rescue, and studies how to operate it.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Tanaka Lab consist of faculty, doctoral students, master's students, and undergraduate students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMotoyasu Tanaka
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “SnakeBot3” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Control of intelligent snake robot motion: “SnakeBot4” 作者不詳 / Public domain (cropped)
- Snake robot that gives massages: “2008, massage accessories from Japan” Syced / CC0 (cropped)
- Snake robot that cleans: “Cleaning robot in Berlin Airport” Shakkimatti / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Robot for indoor exploration and rescue: “RoboCup Rescue robot Hector from Darmstadt at 2010 German open” Mike1024 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Kanada Lab): “Tizzy - motorized robotic crawler ( )” ENERGY.GOV / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Min-Sato Lab): “Big Dog robot - D60 Symposium - Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency - DSC05557” Daderot / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Sugi Lab): “Pengeluaran produksi Rubik Kiub” Encik Tekateki / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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