BionicKangaroo is essentially a robotic model developed and made by Festo in the form of a real-life kangaroo. Applying methods from kinematics, bionics, and biomimetics, the company’s researchers and engineers studied the way kangaroos move, and applied that to the design of a robot that moves in a similar way. The robot actually saves energy from each jump and applies it to its next jump, much as a real kangaroo does. Continue reading for two videos of Festo’s equally impressive SmartBird.
SmartBird is an autonomous ornithopter created by Festo’s Bionic Learning Network with an emphasis on better aerodynamics and manoeuvrability. It is an ornithopter modeled on the herring gull. It has a mass of 450 grams and a wingspan of 1.96 meters. The natural wingbeat of a bird was emulated by using bionics technology to decipher bird flight. Based on the flight of a herring gull, Smartbird differs from previous flapping wing attempts in that it can take off, fly and land by itself. Its wings not only beat up and down, but deliberately twist. This is done by an active torsion mechanism, which provides both lift and propulsion.
