Video: The flexibile necks of these bionic penguins steer the robots as well as making them look realistic (Image: Festo)

A bionic penguin, created by Festo and on display at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition this week (Image: Festo)

The graceful robotic penguins in the video above were unveiled by German engineering firm Festo this week.

Using their flippers, the mechanical penguins can paddle through water just like real ones, while larger helium-filled designs can “swim” through the air. The penguins are on show at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition in Germany.

Each penguin carries 3D sonar developed by EvoLogics in Berlin, Germany, which is used to monitor its surroundings and avoid collisions with walls or other penguins.


Head turning

The bionic penguins can twist and turn almost as gracefully as their living counterparts because of the flexible glass fibre rods that control their heads.

The fibres are arranged around the side of each penguin’s head, while motors inside the body pull on one or more of them to twist the penguin’s neck in any direction and guide the swimmer, says Markus Fischer, who heads Festo’s corporate design team.

That design has industrial applications, says Fischer. It has been adapted by Festo to make a flexible, trunk-like arm with a gripper on the end for use in industrial applications. The arm can twist up to 90° in any direction, giving it an unrivalled degree of dexterity.

Engineers are increasingly gaining inspiration from nature – earlier this year, a European-wide research group began work on a bionic octopus, and engineers think bird wings could help inspire more efficient aircraft.

A year ago, Festo used the same exhibition to unveil realistic swimming robot jellyfish.