Wednesday, June 10, 2009 
Israeli defense researchers are working on a robot snake that can sneak through cracks and into buildings to send back sound and video of enemy movements — or even plant explosives.
That's according to the Jerusalem Post, which cites a news report from Israel's Channel 2.
A video clip shows the six-foot-long robot, covered in camouflage, winding its way through rocks and tree stumps, its "head" a flat camera lens ringed by LED lights.
The "snake" can also prop up its front sections vertically to peer over obstacles.
It's remote-controlled by a soldier, who uses a laptop both to guide the robot and to see and hear what it's feeding back.
The Israel Defense Forces plan to equip combat units with search-and-surveillance models, which could also be useful to find survivors trapped within collapsed buildings.
Future models might be used to plant bombs in enemy facilities.
