Maintenance Technology September 2017 - 11

PLANT PROFILE
this robot is lightweight, energy efficient, flexible, and
WALK THROUGH FESTO'S headquarters in
capable of 360-deg. motion. The flexible fin gripper at
Esslingen, Germany, and you'll witness what appears
the end of the trunk is able to grab a tomato without
to be science fiction. Artificial intelligence and energy
bruising it. Its adaptive fingers adjust flexibly to any
efficiency are deeply imbedded into its bionic robots.
object being gripped, enabling fragile and irregularly
The engineers at Festo believe that by turning to
shaped objects to be handled safely for the first time in a
nature to study the behavior, movement, and communifactory environment.
cation techniques of mammals, insects, and reptiles, you
Since the early 1990s, the company has been creating
can build a smart factory with advanced automation. In
bionic prototypes that translate interesting principles of
fact, you can build the factory of the future.
nature to the world of engineering. The launch of the
"The concept of the Bionic Learning Network [BLN]
Bionic Learning Network in 2006 began the dynamic
is to incorporate best practices of nature into future
and open exchange of ideas with well-known universitechnology, with a focus on energy efficiency, artificial
ties, institutes, and development companies. Each
intelligence, machine learning, and machine-to-human
biomechatronic prototype brings together new ideas,
collaboration," said Yannick Schilly, Festo's head of
solutions, and technologies.
product supply NAFTA and vice president of opera"Nature has been developing best practices over
tions of Festo's Regional Service Center in Mason, OH.
millions of years, and we believe that building cross"Replicating animals into bionic robots allows us to
functional bridges between science, biology, and
learn from nature and to apply these best practices into
engineering offers new possibilities for future innovamotion and control technology."
tion," Schilly stated.
For example, Festo created BionicANTs that transfer
the delicate anatomy of actual creatures,
combined with their cooperative behavior, to
the world of technology. Like their natural role
Curiosity Feeds Innovation
models, these robots communicate with each
other and work together according to clear
Whether Festo engineers seek to solve a specific problem or they observe an
rules to solve a common task. "To translate
interesting phenomenon in nature, their curiosity and willingness to bridge
this into our future innovations, we believe
science, biology, and engineering can translate into new innovations and
that collaboration between components
applications in the industrial environment.
and machines, as well as between machines
The company's engineers focus on five specific areas:
and humans, is an important element of the
■ Energy Efficiency: Combining lightweight construction with highly advanced
factory of the future," Schilly said.
technology.
The Bionic Handling Assistant offers an
■ Machine-to-Machine Communication: Finding ways for all parts and
alternative to conventional robots, which
components to communicate with each other at all times.
move linearly-only up and down and side
■ Machine Learning: Teaching machines to learn like a baby learns-by doing
to side. Replicating an elephant's trunk,
and performing functions.
■ Function Integration: Designing so all components perform many functions
in one tiny space.
■ Machine-Human Collaboration and Safety: Developing machines that learn
to collaborate with workers, including humans.

Industrial Internet of Things-Industry 4.0

To develop the BionicANTs, Festo transferred the delicate
anatomy of actual creatures to the world of technology.
Like their natural role models, they communicate with
each other and work together.

SEPTEMBER 2017

Also known as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT),
Industry 4.0 incorporates machine learning and data
technology, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, and conventional automation technologies. Intelligent technology is at the forefront of Festo's research
and development efforts.
As Schilly points out, factories will change dramatically in the future. Production capabilities, needed to
meet growing population demands-for cars, devices,
smart phones, etc.-will call for many more factories
and capital investments. "Of course, the investors want

MAINTENANCETECHNOLOGY.COM | 11

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