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www.machineryupdate.co.uk MACHINERY UPDATE 79<br />
Rulmeca half page (270x87) PPMA 18_Layout 1 04/06/<strong>2018</strong> 17:03 Page 1<br />
Rulmeca<br />
New bio-inspired<br />
robots are lighter<br />
WE’VE BEEN AROUND FOR OVER 50 YEARS<br />
Conveyor<br />
rollers<br />
Festo has<br />
unveiled two<br />
new lightweight<br />
robotic concepts,<br />
inspired by nature.<br />
The BionicWheelBot<br />
and BionicFlyingFox<br />
are this year’s<br />
creations from<br />
the company’s Bionic<br />
Learning Network,<br />
where Festo’s experts looked at<br />
the motion of spiders and bats<br />
to navigate complex situations.<br />
BionicWheelBot robot<br />
is based on the Flic-Flac<br />
spider, which lives in the<br />
Sahara and escapes predators<br />
with cartwheels and flips.<br />
Festo’s version sees its<br />
intricate motion transferred<br />
to kinematics and drive<br />
technology. It has eight legs<br />
which are controlled by<br />
15 motors within the knee<br />
joints and body.<br />
When it rolls, it does a<br />
somersault with its whole<br />
body, tucking in six of the legs<br />
and using the remaining two<br />
to push off the ground with<br />
every rotation. Thanks to an<br />
integrated inertial sensor, the<br />
robot knows its position and<br />
when to push while rolling.<br />
Festo has also created<br />
BionicFlyingFox based on<br />
the movement of the world’s<br />
largest bat.<br />
The BionicFlyingFox is<br />
based on bat movement<br />
The flying fox can<br />
move semi-autonomously<br />
in a defined space by<br />
communicating with a<br />
motion-tracking system that<br />
constantly records its position.<br />
Images from a camera go to a<br />
computer which evaluates the<br />
data and coordinates the bat’s<br />
flight. Its wing movements<br />
are calculated using on-board<br />
electronics, with a 9g<br />
brushless DC motor driving<br />
the flapping of the wings via a<br />
rack-and-pinion gear system.<br />
Take-off and landing<br />
are controlled by a human<br />
operator.<br />
Festo initiated the Bionic<br />
Learning Network, which<br />
is closely linked with the<br />
processes of innovation<br />
within the company, over ten<br />
years ago with the objective<br />
of benefiting from bionics<br />
as a source of inspiration<br />
for new technologies and to<br />
realise these in industrial<br />
automation.<br />
T 01252 775053<br />
W www.festo.co.uk<br />
DrUM MoTors<br />
Rulmeca offers a comprehensive range of high<br />
quality rollers and components for conveyors,<br />
constructed from aluminium, mild steel, stainless<br />
steel and high resistance technopolymers.<br />
Rulmeca drum motors provide the ideal drive<br />
solution for belt conveyors and associated material<br />
handling equipment. They are versatile, energy<br />
efficient and hermetically sealed for hygienic<br />
operations and wash-down applications<br />
(IP66/IP69) in food processing, packing operations<br />
and logistics.<br />
Contact our experienced Rulmeca team to discuss<br />
the most suitable product for your application.<br />
Call Rulmeca UK on 01536 748525<br />
www.rulmeca.com<br />
Rulmeca UK LTD<br />
Brunel Road,<br />
Earlstrees Road,<br />
Earlstrees Ind. Estate,<br />
Corby, NN17 4JW<br />
E. uk@rulmeca.com<br />
See us on stand G22<br />
The BionicWheelBot robot is based on<br />
the Flic-Flac spider that escapes any<br />
predators with cartwheels and flips<br />
Moving ahead.
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