Snake robots are a suitable solution for various types of applications, especially in rough terrain or hardly accessible areas such as, for example, pipes. This article deals with a snake robot moving in a pipe using a so-called trapezium-like travelling wave. In this paper, we present a mathematical model of locomotion of the snake robot in a pipe of rectangular cross-section. Subsequently, we designed a control algorithm using a trapezium-like travelling wave. Within the control algorithm we introduced the so-called motion matrix of a trapezium-like travelling wave that contains information about the vector of generalized variables at any point of the locomotion cycle. The paper also presents a simulation model in MATLAB R2019b interfacing with CoppeliaSim V4.0.0. Furthermore, in our research we have developed an experimental snake robot with the purpose to verify the derived mathematical model, control algorithm and simulation model. Experimental results show the influence of certain parameters of the trapezium-like travelling wave on locomotion properties, such as the travelled distance or the average speed of the snake robot passing through a pipe. In the final part of this paper, experimental results are discussed and key elements of the proposed control algorithm are highlighted.

蛇机器人是适用于各种类型应用的解决方案，尤其是在崎terrain的地形或难以接近的区域（例如管道）中。本文涉及一种蛇形机器人，它使用所谓的梯形行波在管道中移动。在本文中，我们提出了蛇形机器人在矩形横截面管道中的运动数学模型。随后，我们设计了使用梯形行波的控制算法。在控制算法中，我们引入了梯形行波的所谓运动矩阵，该矩阵包含有关运动周期任何点的广义变量矢量的信息。本文还提供了在MATLAB Co2019与CoppeliaSim V4.0.0接口的仿真模型。此外，在我们的研究中，我们开发了一种实验蛇机器人，旨在验证派生的数学模型，控制算法和仿真模型。实验结果表明，梯形行波的某些参数对运动特性的影响，例如蛇行机器人通过管道的行进距离或平均速度。在本文的最后部分，讨论了实验结果，并重点介绍了所提出的控制算法的关键要素。