Like their biological role model, the AquaPenguins have an energy-efficient streamlined shape. With the help of their wing drives, the artificial penguins can manoeuvre through water in the tightest of spaces, turn on the spot and – unlike their natural counterpart – even swim backwards. They can orient themselves independently and develop different, variable behaviour patterns in a group.
Penguins are fascinating animals. To enable them to survive in the cold Antarctic waters, they not only have excellent insulation but also reduce their energy consumption through the streamlined shape of their bodies. This is yet another way in which nature shows how a minimum of energy input can achieve a maximum of performance. Reason enough for our Bionic Learning Network to investigate the efficient streamlined shape of birds with the AquaPenguins and to apply it to technology.
To communicate with their environment and the other bionic penguins, the AquaPenguins are equipped with a special 3D sonar system. In a similar way to dolphins, they use broadband ultrasound signals to determine their position in a space, continuously measure the distances to the boundaries of the body of water, avoid collisions and navigate independently. The penguins can use a separate pressure sensor for depth measurement in open water.
The hull, which can move in any direction, is a brand new innovation in the field of robotics. Its design consists of a flexible Fin Ray® structure inspired by the tail fin of a fish. When pressure is applied to it from the side, it does not bend away but instead curves around the pressure point. For the AquaPenguins, the bionic Fin Ray® structure has now been extended to three-dimensional space for the first time. The hull design of the penguins could be used in automation as a flexible parallel kinematic system arrangement and thus open up new application fields in handling technology.