I used to work on this project - surprised to see it on the front of HN. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions.

This video is relatively old. Here are some more recent videos of where the technology is now:

Overview of the most recent robot design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=64&v=te4M-b69fVs

Video of the "Snake Monster" made with multiple snake robots as legs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMVO6rI5mL4

Main webpage about the project: http://www.snakerobot.com