I just stumbled across an amazing new video (embedded below) from Howie Choset's Biorobotics Laboratory at CMU of a teleoperated snake robot climbing a tree.  While I have seen a lot of snake robots built over the years, including some amphibious versions that can swim, this is the first time I have seen one climbing a tree -- a task that some biological species do amazingly well!  This is clearly a case of personal ignorance; other snake robots from the Biorobotics lab have been performing similar feats for years, as evidenced by videos from 2008 (also embedded below).  However, I was sufficiently captivated by the new and old videos to share them with you.

Here is the latest video of the snake robot climbing a tree.

The Biorobotics Lab had an immensely popular module snake robot video back in 2008 that shows the snakebots climbing peoples' legs, climbing pipes (both inside and outside), etc.

Finally, here is the amphibious robot I mentioned that is capable of swimming.