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

Comments

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog