Some of the future concepts that Festo has designed over the past few years include the Bionic Handling Assistant, which was inspired by an elephant’s trunk, and the Bionic Tripod, which mimic the tailfins of a fish.
All have been inspired by nature and put into practice in the Bionic Learning Network, an alliance of educational establishments and specialist companies tasked with exploring bionic solutions for evolutionary automation applications. The latest innovation is the SmartBird, which was showcased at the 2011 Hannover Messe Trade Fair.
New ideas taking flight
Birds are capable of generating the necessary drive to overcome air resistance, allowing them to take off and remain airborne for hours on end. They are able to do this using only the power of their wings. Festo engineers have succeeded in achieving the same energy efficient result using a unique movement that distinguishes the SmartBird from all previous mechanical flapping wing constructions.
Based on the herring gull, the SmartBird is an ultralight, powerful flight model, which can fly, glide, sail through the air and land, with no additional drive mechanisms. Its wings not only beat up and down, but also twist at specific angles. This is made possible by an active articulated torsional drive unit, a unique feature that allows the SmartBird to dispense with additional lift devices. In combination with a complex control system, this makes for unprecedented efficiency in flight operation.
The purpose of the SmartBird project was to design a groundbreaking structure that was efficient in terms of resource and energy consumption, with minimal overall weight; functional integration of propulsion and lift in the wings; and a flight control unit in the torso and tail regions. Further requirements were excellent aero-dynamics, high power density for propulsion and maximum agility for the flying craft. The outcome is an intelligent biomechatronic system.
This system operates in an extremely energy efficient manner. The propulsion and lift are achieved solely by the flapping of the wings and have a power requirement of only 23 Watts. Measurements have demonstrated an electromechanical efficiency factor of around 45% and an aero-dynamic efficiency factor of up to 80%. The SmartBird has a total weight of around 450 g and a wingspan of two metres.
It is an exceptional resource efficient combination of functional integration and lightweight design and demonstrates the optimal use of pneumatic technology. Its innovative design will provide important foundations for future optimisation of cylinders, valves and other automation components.
Although focused on energy efficiency and lightweight construction, Festo is still providing fresh ideas not only in factory and process automation, but also in safe automation, intelligent mechatronics solutions, new drive and handling technology, energy and lightweight construction.
Reaching new frontiers
The Bionic Tripod is based on the Fin Ray Effect which mimics the tail fins of a fish. It combines the advantages of pneumatic automation technology with the latest bionic approaches to achieve maximum scope of operation with a minimum weight of the moving parts.
This is a new approach to handling technology as an alternative to the portal systems that are predominant in mechanical engineering. The drive unit and the handling system are entirely independent of each other. The working and drive levels are spatially separated by the work surface. As a result of its low weight, this handling unit can be moved in a highly dynamic, energy efficient manner. The low centre of gravity of the entire system provides additional stability for precise alignment with small movements, thus saving energy. With its adaptive gripping finger based on the Fin Ray Effect, the Bionic Tripod can grasp objects of various shapes and contours securely in a form fitting manner. The flexible gripper arm can swivel up to an angle of 90° in any spatial direction, which makes for a large scope of operation.
Energy efficient and lightweight in its construction, the Bionic Tripod can be used wherever small masses are to be moved rapidly and flexibly. The special gripper fingers are capable of gripping variously shaped objects.
For more information contact Joanne Dexter, Festo, +27 (0)11 971 5560, [email protected], www.festo.com
| Tel: | 08600 FESTO (33786) |
| Fax: | +27 11 974 2157 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.festo.co.za |
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