Biomimicry is a rapidly emerging field of science and technology. Researchers in the field seek to imitate abilities found in natural organisms for human applications. Examples include attempts to copy the photosynthesis ability of plants to make more efficient solar cells and the climbing ability of gecko lizards to make better human climbing gear.
Some of the new designs from robotics and automation company Festo, however, take biomimicry to the next level, by attempting to mimic some of the social structures of animal species.
The company has already built a strong reputation with designs like the SmartBird and the BionicKangaroo. Its new designs for a team of robotic ants, a fleet of robotic butterflies and a chameleon’s tongue will be officially unveiled at the 2015 Hannover Messe, which starts on April 13.
The Bionic Autonomous Networking Technologies (BionicANTs) are, according to the company, a sign of things to come for manufacturing. In addition to copying the general appearance of ants, albeit really big ants, the BionicANTS attempt to mimmic the cooperative nature and social structure of ants.
“The artificial ants thus demonstrate how autonomous individual components can solve a complex task together working as an overall networked system,” according to the company website.
Each ant in the group is 5.3 inches long and runs on two 7.2 volt batteries. The ants are capable of recharging themselves as needed by touching their antennae to metal bars in their work area.
“Like their natural role models, the BionicANTs work together under clear rules. They communicate with each other and coordinate both their actions and movements. Each ant makes its decisions autonomously, but in doing so is always subordinate to the common objective and thereby plays its part towards solving the task at hand,” The company’s Head of Corporate Communication and Future Concepts, Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Frontzek told Gizmag.
Festo’s eMotionButterflies also display collective and coordinated behavior but in the air and for shorter periods of time. Each 20 inch wide, one ounce butterfly can stay in the air for about 4 minutes at a time without recharging.
The butterflies travel at about 8 feet per second and are coordinated, and prevented from crashing into one another with an indoor GPS system and a series of infrared monitors which are monitored by cameras. The data is fed into a central computer which sends instructions to the individual units.
Finally there is the FlexShapeGripper; the unit is designed to mimic the way a chameleon catches prey with its tongue. The chameleon grabs its prey and wraps its tongue around it, holding it securely and preventing its escape.
The FlexHapeGripper is meant for future use on the factory floor, picking up several objects at once and putting them together without the need for manual conversion. The unit was created in cooperation with the university of Oslo.
The new machines from Festo are just the latest steps and only one vision for robotic automation. According to the Oxford Martin School, Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology, 47 percent of current North American jobs will be automated in the next 20 years.
