The graceful robotic penguins were unveiled by German engineering firm Festo this week.
Using their flippers, the mechanical penguins can paddle through water just like real ones, while larger helium-filled designs can “swim” through the air. The penguins are on show at the Hannover Messe Trade Exhibition in Germany.
Each penguin carries 3D sonar developed by EvoLogics in Berlin, Germany, which is used to monitor its surroundings and avoid collisions with walls or other penguins.
The bionic penguins can twist and turn almost as gracefully as their living counterparts because of the flexible glass fibre rods that control their heads.
The fibres are arranged around the side of each penguin’s head, while motors inside the body pull on one or more of them to twist the penguin’s neck in any direction and guide the swimmer, says Markus Fischer, who heads Festo’s corporate design team.
