Video of the week: Festo engineers unveil robotic flying fox

The robot was developed by the group’s Bionic Learning Network, a cross-disciplinary group of scientists and engineers tasked with developing a handful of concepts each year, in order to explore concepts that may help shape manufacturing in the future.

The firm typically unveils the fruits of these labours ahead of each year’s Hannover Messe. Previous creations have included robot ants, penguins, kangaroos, seagulls and jellyfish.

The latest device closely mimics the unusual flying characteristics of the flying fox, which is one of the only mammals capable of flight. One particular feature of this species is a fine elastic membrane that stretches from the extended metacarpal and finger bones down to the foot joints.

In flight, the animals control the curvature of the flying membrane with their fingers, allowing them to move aerodynamically and agilely through the air. They thereby achieve maximum uplift, even when performing slow flying manoeuvres.