GineersNow Engineering Magazine Issue 005

A Robotic Arm
that Acts Like an
Elephant Trunk
Biomimetics is a damn exciting field. Engineers
in this field use nature as their inspiration for
systems and designs to create awesome stuff. For
example, they used the elephant’s trunk to create
a cool robotic arm.
At first glance, the thingamajig looks like a cross
between a mechanical claw and iron snake with
a good measure of tentacle horror thrown in. In
fact, they are reminiscent of the sweet robotic
arms used by the infamous Dr. Octopus, the
Spiderman villain. Of course, they are calling it
the Bionic Handling Assistant, the blandest name
possible for the cool robot. But it’s cool anyway.
As it stands, elephant trunks are possibly the
coolest appendages in the Animal Kingdom. So,
making a robotic arm based on that is a fantastic
idea. This robotic arm was made by Festo, a
German automation company.
What is even more fantastic is that the arm acts
and learns just like a baby’s arm. The researcher
will guide the arm to perform certain actions. The
robot will learn and memorizes the movements
so as to repeat them whenever necessary. This
will enable the robot to fulfill functions such as
operating in tight quarters and helping people in
the medical or the industrial sector. It can even be
programmed to change a light bulb.
Festo has also been responsible for the creation of
the first robot kangaroo that actually moves like
the real thing. Again, they have used biomimetics
to mimic the leaping movements of the kangaroo
precisely. The robot jumps and lands perfectly as
a result. Now, that’s a kickass use of science.
Photo by Festo
JULY 2016
Future Cities & Robotics
53