man holding snake
Jade Small
Jade Small
March 26, 2024 ·  4 min read

Madman Invents Robot Suit That Lets Snake Walk With Legs

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, technology has boomed. More and more inventions are being created that will better the living circumstances of the world’s population. One man has taken it into his charge to ‘give snakes their legs back’. He has created a robot suit, which acts like an exoskeleton for a snake. It is equipped with legs for them to move around like the used to before they succumbed to evolution.

Snake wearing a robot suit
Image credit: Image credit: YouTube | Allen Pan

Robot suit for snakes gives them legs

Before snakes looked like the creatures we know so well today, they used to have legs. After thousands of years of evolution, they lost their legs and started slithering on their bellies instead. Allen Pan is an inventor, a science vlogger, and a lover of all snakes. He says he “feel[s] bad for snakes” because they no longer have the legs they used to walk around on in their early years.

Allan's snake robot suit design.
Image credit: YouTube / Allen Pan

To remedy this, he decided to take matter into his own design, and he created a robot suit. This acts like an exoskeleton that a snake can fit into snugly. It has four legs that mimic the movement of lizards, which the snake can manipulate. Thus, he gave the snake its legs back. This seemingly mad scientist just loves snakes enough to create them a robot suit with legs. He says that if other people will create prosthetic legs or their pets, then he wants to do the same for snakes. Even f no one else would dream of it.

“When any other animal has deformed legs, humanity comes together to spit in God’s face, and we build that animal awesome new cyborg legs. But nobody loves snakes enough to build them robot legs. Nobody except for me. Snake lover: Allen Pan.” Allan said this is a YouTube video that he posted if a python wearing the robot suit and walking around quite confidently.

Read: Robot Was Gifted With Intelligence; Did it Decide to ‘Commit Suicide’?

Video credit: YouTube / Allen Pan

The evolution of snakes

In the YouTube video, Allan goes to a pet shop that specializes in reptiles like lizards and snakes. They offer snake demonstrations for birthday parties. He asked them to come over even though it was not his birthday. They brought a python, and a few other snakes along for the show. Allan took that opportunity to ask them about their legs and how they had evolved out of them. Along with the research he did in 2014, he found that snakes’ two back legs had been replaced by two penises. Although, they only use one at a time.

There is one theory that scientists have for snakes growing out of their legs. They live most of their lives in burrows, and this meant a lot of small spaces. This made it hard for snakes to access their prey, so they eventually evolved into the smooth slithery snakes we know so well today. However, Allan’s robot suit for snakes has now given them a chance to walk again.

Allan pan in pet shop
image credit: YouTube / Allen Pan

Constructing the robot suit

In the YouTube video, Allan described how he came to his design. The initial plan he had was not going to work out as well as he thought. He said: “I need a design that a snake can somehow choose to take on an off”. Allan found inspiration with the popular character, Earthworm Jim, and he came to his final design.

He need to see the animal in front of him while he was programming the legs, so he went to a pet shop under the false pretense of buying a snake pet. There he studied their movements, as well as the motion of lizards’ legs, so he could replicate it for his snake robot suit. “With the visual data I was able to reconstruct how snake might walk if it still had legs,” said Allan.

In the video he tested the robot suit out, and he caught the attention of a family walking by. Naturally, Allan explained it was a prosthetic for a snake. “Only someone who really loves snakes would do this, right?” said Allan.

Keep Reading: Man Falls in “Love” with Robot and wants to Marry “Her”

Sources

  1. A Snake-Lover Built Robotic Legs For a Snake, and It’s Insane.Science Alert. Carly Casella. August 17, 2022.
  2. Madman Invents Robot Suit That Lets Snake Walk With Legs.” Furturism. Noor Al-Siba. August 15, 2022.
  3. You can’t be ssssss-erious! Inventor develops a bizarre four-legged robot that allows snakes to ‘walk’.” Daily Mail. Johnathan Chadwick. August 15, 2022.