Posted to News on 9th Jul 2010, 10:32
See Festo's AirPenguins at The Big Bang Fair 2012
Festo's famous bionic AirPenguins are poised and ready to fly at The Big Bang Fair 2012, which is described as the UK's largest science, technology and engineering fair for young people. Attracting considerable attention wherever they perform, the AirPenguins will undoubtedly be one of the fair's highlights. Set to fascinate visitors with their graceful aerobatic agility as they fly around the exhibition hall, they provide a thought-provoking insight into the types of energy transfer and behavioural mechanisms that could form the basis of future automation technology.
The Big Bang Fair aims to inspire young people about careers in science and engineering, and to help children 11-14 years old to choose their subject options at school. It is also guaranteed to provide a fun, yet educational day out for all youn gpeople aged 7-19. The environment is rather like a cross between the Science Museum and a theme park, enabling everyone to gain hands-on experience of some of the world's most exciting science and engineering technologies. This year's event is likely to attract more than 35,000 visitors, including some 5000 teachers.
Festo's AirPenguins are renowned for their aerial beauty, but they really need to be viewed close-up to appreciate how engineers have created these bionic creatures using mechanisms copied from the movement of fish and rays. So although they will be flying each day - every hour, on the hour, for 10-15 minutes - they will also be available for closer viewing on Festo's stand.
More bionics
The stand will additionally feature a number of hands-on interactive displays, aimed at encouraging children to think about engineering concepts. Also on show will be other recent bionic developments from Festo's Bionic Learning Network, which is an alliance of educational establishments and specialist companies tasked with exploring bionics for automation applications of the future. These will include the Bionic Handling Assistant, a handling system that takes its inspiration from an elephant's trunk, and the FinGripper adaptive gripping device, which embraces the way fish and rays convert energy into movement. Some of these developments have already transferred from research to production, and are now being used to considerable benefit in complex machines such as industrial robots.
Entry to The Big Bang Fair is free, but visitors need to pre-register and state whether they want to attend any of the workshops or educational theatre shows. Thursday, 15 March and Friday, 16 March are reserved for school groups, while on Saturday, 17 March the Fair is open to families. Full details, including on-line registration, can be found at www.thebigbangfair.co.uk.
