Authors consider the current problems in virtual and physical research of snake-like robots (SR). The paper describes a design and soft- and hardware solutions of the SR 'Zmeelok-3M' with universal mechatronic joint modules. The features of the virtual model developed in accordance with the technical characteristics of the SR 'Zmeelok-3M' are discussed. A universal software was specifically developed for physical and virtual experiments. Authors also propose an algorithm for processing experimental data and present a comparison of experimental results on the example of various locomotion modes.