https://archive.triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/cmus-snakebot-pulls-jimmys-leg-on-fallon-show/
CMU's Snakebot pulls Jimmy's leg on Fallon show
Snakebot, a robot from Carnegie Mellon University, climbs Jimmy Fallon's leg during a segment on 'The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.'
A robot from Carnegie Mellon University that looks and moves like a snake was on Jimmy Fallon this week.
Literally on Fallon.
Howie Choset, a robotics professor at CMU, brought Snakebot to "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" for an episode that aired Tuesday.
Choset told Fallon the robot could be a tool for search and rescue workers, could inspect nuclear power plants or could perform minimally invasive surgery, if it was smaller, of course. He said the robot is great because it can go places humans and conventional machines can't.
And it's really great at climbing things.
"Can it climb me?" Fallon asked.
Things got a little funky as Snakebot made its way up Fallon's leg.
"Slow down there, mister," Fallon said as Snakebot neared his knee.
Snakebot appeared as part of segment called "Tonight Showbotics." It featured Snakebot, Sophia, a human-like robot by Hanson Robotics, and butterfly robots made by Festo AG.
RELATED: Carnegie Mellon University snake robot slithers past tight spots
Choset said Fallon's show approached CMU for the segment. CMU gave the show a list of robot demonstrations it could provide and the show chose Snakebot.
"Even to this day, I don't get bored looking at that robot," Choset said of Snakebot.
Choset, who is also the chief technology officer of the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing Institute, said the wall of his lab at CMU shows the 15 to 20 year evolution of Snakebot. It's been a long-term project for the CMU professor. Last year, Choset and some of his students founded HEBI Robotics, a CMU spinoff company seeking to commercialize the Snakebot technology. Hebi means snake in Japanese, Choset said.
But Snakebot's late-night television debut almost didn't go as planned. Moments before Choset went on stage, Snakebot's camera died. Then the whole robot died. Matt Travers, a fellow CMU robotics professor, scrambled as Choset walked on stage.
Travers pulled off a miracle, Choset said, bringing both the camera and robot back to life and then operating the robot from behind stage.
"It was amazing," Choset said of Travers' work. "The real hero of the day was Matt Travers."
Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-336-8448, aaupperlee@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tinynotebook.
Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)