Getting young people interested in technology is one of the main aims of our Bionic Learning Network. The Bionics4Education project brings the world of bionics and the education sector together. The interactive education concept enables a variety of bionics-related topics to be experienced in the classroom. It consists of a digital learning environment and a practical training kit, which allows students to build bionic prototypes in a creative way.
The first training kit to be launched in 2018 under the name of Bionics Kit in Germany and the USA is aimed at students between the ages of 14 and 18. The Bionics Kit gives young people the opportunity to solve problems using bionic methods in a creative and uncomplicated way – for example, by building a bionic fish, a chameleon gripper or an elephant’s trunk with an adaptive gripper with Fin Ray Effect®.
The kit case contains all the basic components necessary to get started with the design. These include conventional small servo motors, electronic components and plastic elements such as Fin Ray® structures. The pupils’ task is to then sensibly and inventively combine materials they have chosen by themselves. Cable binders, sandbags, cardboard, foam rubber and many other materials are suitable for this, enabling each young person to design their own reusable models.