Markus Schäffer, head of Festo, was present at the Science and Engineering Festival in Washington, D.C., where he presented some of his incredible robotic animals. Among them were the company's mind-blowing new flying robots.
For some time now, we have been following the creations of Festo, the German engineering company dedicated to the automation industry. Among its projects, we can highlight incredible flying robots like the AirPenguin, AirJelly, and SmartBird.
Three New Flying Robots
The first of these robots is the Butterfly, a butterfly that uses a camera tracking system to fly autonomously, avoiding collisions with the ceiling and walls without the need for human guidance.
Next comes the Flying Jellyfish a giant flying jellyfish that is gently propelled up and down by eight tentacles and remotely directed with a bearing inside its helium-filled body. It weighs only about two pounds and can fly for two hours thanks to a small battery.
Last but perhaps the cutest, the Penguin is a silver penguin with fins that help it glide forward through the air.
Both the Flying Jellyfish and the Penguin have been seen before, but it's worth clarifying that these are new models. In addition to these three robots, Festo's engineers have also developed a flying geometric band named SmartInversion, flying seagulls, a jumping kangaroo, robotic ants that cooperate with each other, a bionic gripping assistant inspired by the elephant's trunk, and the FlexShapeGripper, a robotic arm with a 'chameleon tongue' that grabs anything. Festo comes out with something new each year, and although Schäffer didn't give us any hints about what to expect for 2017, they have promised that there are very cool things in the works.
