German bionic kangaroo: energy-efficient robotics

A German company has made a robotic kangaroo inspired by the real animal - and the process is kinematics, the study of classical mechanics and motion. Called the BionicKangaroo, Festo has designed and made a robotic kangaroo to add to its collection of animals for its annual Bionic Learning Network Project which aims to learn the movements of animals to replicate them exactly in robots (New Scientist, April 5, 2014). The overall aim is to improve ways that robots can grip, move, and control objects in factories and workplaces.

Festo is an industrial automation company based in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany. Their BionicKangaroo has elastic springs in each leg that replicates the movement of the tendon in a real kangaroo’s leg, allowing the robot to jump and hop in the same way that live ones do. Festo’s website explains that the robot can recover the energy when jumping, store it, and efficiently use it for the next jump – just as real kangaroos do – making it energy-efficient.

The BionicKangaroo weighs 7 kilograms, is 1 metre high, and it can hop 40 centimetres into the air and jump 80 centimetres forward. A person can control its movements via an armband and gestures, such as waving.

The action is derived from a combination of pneumatic and electrical drive technology. The jump kinematics and the precise control technology enable stability when jumping and landing. Being lightweight also facilitates the unique jumping behaviour.

A video of the BionicKangaroo can be seen on the New Scientist website and Festo’s website. Festo’s website also contains photos that show the mechanism of the BionicKangaroo. The photo (above) is from Festo’s website. I took the photos (below) at Commonwealth Park in Canberra, Australia (sculpture of two kangaroos), and at Mt Ainslie in Canberra (four real kangaroos).

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25356-irrepressible-robot-roo-bounces-on-flexible-blades.html#.U0BIcz_NvIU

http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/13704.htm

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