Introducing the robo-penguins!

Thursday 06 August

You may remember a few months back we reported on Festo – the company that takes ideas from nature and uses them in design and technology – and its Penguin robots. Well I hopped on a plane to Germany, drove down the autobahn, and visited the boffins at Festo to get a glimpse of these aquatic robot birds!

Festo’s moved on from their awesome jellyfish robots to awesome swimming penguins! Why? Because their bodies are ideal for minimum drag in water. The research could prove essential for creating more streamlined underwater vehicles.

The autonomous robotic penguins have a range of sensors for depth, pressure, temperature and stability to work their way around an expanse of water. They also have sonar, which allows them to swim around with robo-penguins or humans without bumping into them.

The Festo Penguin is the first robot with 360 degrees of movement, which comes from the tail and neck where plastics move through a 360 degrees wave motion to propel the penguin in any direction through water.

But that’s enough blathering on. Check out the video of me in the pool with the Festo penguins. I also catch a glimpse of some flying penguins. Yep, you read that right… it’s AI at its best!