From da Vinci to the Wright brothers, man has always been fascinated with flight. Whilst we may have achieved this goal, we are still intrigued by the way birds fly and the energy efficiency and natural aerodynamics of their bodies. Some have wondered whether a robot could ever achieve flight and Festo, through the Bionic Learning Network, has risen to the challenge.
At the opening ceremony of the prestigious 19th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) in Cape Town, delegates were treated to a display of two bionic flying innovations, the SmartBird and the BionicOpter. These autonomous robots were developed and built by Festo’s Bionic Learning Network, which takes inspiration from nature to expand understanding of engineering and automation.
“The SmartBird and BionicOpter represent the future possibilities for automated control and were a good match for the congress’ theme of ‘Promoting automatic control for the benefit of humankind’ explains Richard Teagle, managing director of Festo South Africa. “The hosting of the IFAC Congress in South Africa is a coup for the country in two ways: Professor Ian Craig is the first South African to be president of IFAC, and it is the first time that South Africa has played host to this triennial Congress.”
Through this forum, professionals in automated control around the world can discuss and debate the future of automation, both as a profession and for industry as whole. “Our industry strives to make work easier for people through the use of automation,” adds Teagle. Based on this belief, the IFAC proceedings include a Youth Day where students will be involved in technical sessions and demonstrations. Festo Didactic, the training division of Festo, is involved in the Youth Day, showing some of the training equipment used to equip students with industry-relevant skills. One of the displays is the DJ robots, a pair of mechatronic robots programmed to ‘spin the decks’ and dance. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich will also be at the Youth Day demonstrating their Quadrocopters. “We hope to motivate and excite these young people to be our next generation of engineers, with the ability to automate our industry for future growth and success,” concludes Teagle.
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