The popular children's board game Snakes and Ladders took a step into reality recently as researchers from Kyoto University and the University of Electro-Communications unveiled a robotic snake that can climb up and down ladders.  The robotic snake, made from several hinge-jointed sections, twists itself around the rungs, propelling itself up to the next rung and so on.  The robot descends the ladder the same way.

It is currently still in the development stages and will need more refinements before the technology is ready to be widely used – it is still powered by a cable plugged into the mains so isn't suitable for combat deployment or search and rescue missions yet.  The technology could allow search and rescue teams to get through small gaps in crumbled buildings and through spaces that can't currently be accessed with other remote robotic technology.  As for ladders in the real world, the snake robot could be used to bring heavy materials to workers at height, it could be used to deliver medical attention (supplies and a camera) to people trapped in difficult to reach places and it could be used for reconnaissance missions in the military.

The development comes after well-known robotics company Boston Dynamics uploaded a video of their Atlas robot performing parkour moves, and their robotic dog Spot dancing to Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk.  This firm is known for producing robots that can assist in combat, in bomb retrieval and disposal and other dangerous situations including rescue missies and the aftermath of natural disasters.  Their videos often humanise their inventions, making them a little less scary to the first-time viewer.  The snake, however, has not been humanised at all and is still a little off-putting, even when you can see the cable and the off switch – perhaps we're trained through evolution to be wary of anything serpentine?

A robotic snake might be quite useful in the home though.  You could send it up into the loft, equipped with a camera, to tell you whether that suitcase you're looking for is in the loft, and where, before you go up and start rooting around unnecessarily.  It would also be really useful for gutter clearing – you could send it up the ladder while you wait safely on the ground, then let it push its way along the gutter, clearing debris as it goes, before it exits back down the drainpipe into your waiting hands.  You, meanwhile, can enjoy a cold beer in the garden while the hard work is done for you!

Combining a ladder and a robotic snake could also save you time on cleaning, as you could send the snake up a ladder with a camera to let you know how dusty the tops of cupboards are.  One day we might see Spot the robotic dog teamed up with a robotic snake to actually do the housework for you; capable of opening doors and climbing up by themselves there's virtually no domestic job they couldn't help with.  The washing up might be a different matter, after all electrics and water aren't a great mix, but for most domestic tasks and many dangerous commercial ones robotic technology is making life safer for us humans.