Festo Shows Bionic Approaches In Robotics

Robots could be used as assistance systems and relieve people, especially in monotonous or dangerous activities. The strict separation between the work areas of humans and robots is increasingly being abolished; a collaborative work space is created. Bionic lightweight robots, such as those shown by Festo at the Hannover Messe, are virtually predestined for safe human-robot collaboration due to their natural movement patterns and the flexible pneumatics used. In the future, they can represent an inexpensive alternative to classic robot concepts.

Picture gallery

Picture gallery with 6 pictures

Bionic-Cobot - pneumatic lightweight robot with human movements

In its movement patterns, the Bionic Cobot is modeled on the human arm, from the shoulder to the upper arm, elbow, ulna and spoke to the hand. He takes advantage of the natural mechanism of action of the biceps and triceps muscles, i.e. the efficient interaction of flexors and extensors, and in all of his joints. As a result, like his biological role model, he can perform very sensitive movements.

The movements of the Bionic-Cobot can be controlled powerfully and dynamically, but also sensitively and flexibly, so that the system does not endanger people even in the event of a collision. This is made possible by the pneumatic automation platform "Festo Motion Terminal", which combines high-precision mechanics, sensors and complex control and measurement technology in a very small space.

Depending on the task, different grippers can be connected to the Bionic Cobot. It is operated intuitively via a specially developed graphical user interface: With a tablet, the user can easily teach and parameterize the actions to be carried out. Then you can drag and drop the defined work steps together in a timeline. The complete sequence of movements is virtually depicted and simulated at the same time. The interface between the tablet and the Festo Motion Terminal is the open source platform ROS (Robot Operating System), on which the path plans of the kinematics are calculated.

Bionic-Motion-Robot - lightweight robot with natural forms of movement

Elephant proboscis and octopus tentacles can move particularly flexibly. The pneumatic lightweight robot Bionic-Motion-Robot effortlessly imitates these flowing movements with its flexible pneumatic bellows structure and corresponding valve and control technology. The concept of flexible kinematics is based on the Bionic Handling Assistant from 2010, which was awarded the German Future Prize. A novel outer skin made from a 3D textile knit now enables the Bionic Motion Robot to exploit the great power potential of the entire kinematics. This means that the bionic robot arm has a load capacity of just under three kilograms - at about the same weight.

Octopus Gripper - gripping along the lines of the octopus tentacles

With the Octopus Gripper, Festo presents a bionic gripper that is derived from the octopus tentacle. It consists of a soft silicone structure that can be controlled pneumatically. If it is filled with compressed air, the tentacle bends inwards and can be gently and gently wrapped around the material to be gripped. As with its natural model, there are two rows of actively and passively regulated suction cups on the inside of the silicone tentacle. This allows the Octopus gripper to take up and hold a variety of different shapes. The flexible gripper demonstrates its diverse application options on the Bionic Motion Robot and the Bionic Cobot. The Festo Motion Terminal controls both the respective robot arm and the gripper.Due to its soft and compliant structure, the Octopus gripper has great potential for use in future collaborative workspaces. (mz)

The Future Concepts exhibits from Festo can be found in Hall 15, Stand D11

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