Festo’s BionicOpter mimics dragonfly

Festo isn’t as popular as Boston Dynamics. After glancing through the amazing work they have been doing in robotics, it is now seeming they deserve as much appreciation as the other giants. After launching a machine last year that soared ahead like a herring gull, the company is now planning to launch its new device “BionicOpter.”

This is a 17.3-inch dragonfly that can fly in any direction, or just hover around. Built from carbon fibre and foil wings, this mimic dragon fly can flutter its wings 20 times a second. It doesn’t fly, they say, it swims in the air. The company has made it easier to fly the robotic bug. It can be controlled through a smartphone app. There is an ARM-based micro-controller that allows the robot dragonfly to make small adjustments during flight. The company has so far refrained from telling how long its two-cell lithium ion battery lasts on a single charge. The price of the robot bug is also unclear. The company has not yet revealed when it will release the bug in the market. Whenever it comes, chances are that it will be out-of-range for many people.