Axis Ai

Ants are hard workers that live in large colonies with a clear hierarchy. Working as a team enables them to perform tasks that a single animal would not be able to manage on its own. For the first time, the cooperative behaviour of the creatures is also transferred to the world of technology using complex control algorithms.  Watch on YouTube the BionicANTs work together according to clear rules. The small robots communicate with each other and coordinate their actions and movements with each other. The artificial ants thus demonstrate how autonomous individual components can solve a complex task together by working as an overall networked system. It is not only the cooperative behaviour of the artificial ants that is amazing; even their production method is unique. The laser-sintered components are enhanced with visible conductor structures in the 3D MID process. They thereby take on design and electrical functions at the same time. The actuator technology of the legs makes use of...

Titanoboa is a full size electro –mechanical reincarnation of the ancient, 50-foot snake killed off by past climate change. The project is a vehicle to provoke discussion about climate change and energy use, and to enable learning through the creation of a engineered art piece. Titanoboa is capable of moving with 5 different modes of motion although the most commonly used mode is lateral  undulation.  Watch on YouTube   Proto Labs recently produced 100 of these super slick belly scales designed by Hugh Patterson that will help Titanoboa slide on all terrain!  Read more here. The machine also has a small roller on each vertebrae to enhance frictional anisotropy. Dorsal scales on back of live snake. These scales may be composed of translucent material to highlight internal lighting. Regardless of transparency of scales, internal lighting will shine through cracks in the beast’s armor. Scale design and manufacturing is ongoing.

They are agile, nimble and can even fly loops and tight turns: the BionicSwifts. The five artificial swallows can move in a coordinated and autonomous manner in a defined airspace by interacting with a radio-based indoor GPS. With a body length of 44.5 centimetres and a wingspan of 68 centimetres, the bionic birds weigh just 42 grams. During the wing upstroke, the individual lamellae fan out so that air can flow through the wing. This means that the birds need less force to pull the wing up. During the downstroke, the lamellae close up so that the birds can generate more power to fly. Due to this close-to-nature replica of the wings, the BionicSwifts have a better flight profile than previous wing-beating drives. The bird’s body contains the compact construction for the wing-flapping mechanism, the communication technology, the control components for wing flapping and the elevator, the tail. A brushless motor, two servomotors, the battery, the gearbox as well as various circuit boards ...