Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
Drawing inspiration from the cooperative behavior displayed by ants at work, a German firm has developed 3D-printed versions of the highly organized insects that can collaborate on tasks.
With their new line of BionicANTs, the staff at Esslingen am Neckar-based automation company Festo have combined complex control algorithms, sensors, and wireless control systems to create 3D printed ants that Gizmodo claims “scuttle around much like the real thing.”
These aren’t tiny robots, either – each of them is approximately the same size as a human hand, according to New Scientist. They feature a body made from plastic and have a stereo camera in the head of each ant’s head that allow it to determine its location and to identify different objects that could be seized using gripping devices located beneath its chin.
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The body of these ant drones in constructed entirely through additive manufacturing, while circuits are overlaid on top using a machine. Their grippers, as well as all six legs on each drone, were built using ceramic actuators capable of bending quickly and precisely using little energy. Finally, a series of floor sensors help them detect their terrain.
Our role model the ant
“For the BionicANTs, Festo has not only taken the delicate anatomy of the natural ant as a role model,” Festo said on its website. “For the first time, the cooperative behavior of the creatures is also transferred to the world of technology using complex control algorithms.”
“Like their natural role models, the BionicANTs work together under clear rules,” the company added. “They communicate with each other and coordinate their actions and movements among each other. The artificial ants thus demonstrate how autonomous individual components can solve a complex task together working as an overall networked system.”
The company said that the production technique used to create the cooperative drones is “unique” and features laser-sintered components that are embellished with visible conductor structures in the 3D printing process, thus serving as both design and electrical components.
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For the legs, Festo said that they built the machines using leg actuator technology that takes advantage of piezo technology, meaning that the electrical charge is accumulated in response to applied mechanical stress. The BionicANTs were designed to mimic the behavior of real ants by making individual decisions based on the common goal of the entire drone swarm.
“The goal of the project is to create intelligent agents that can work efficiently in factories of the future by adapting to different production requirements,” New Scientist noted.
“Like their natural role models, the BionicANTs work together under clear rules,” Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Frontzek, the company’s head of corporate communication and future concepts, added in a statement. “They communicate with each other and coordinate both their actions and movements. Each ant makes its decisions autonomously, but in doing so is always subordinate to the common objective and thereby plays its part towards solving the task at hand.”
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