Issue27
trends inautomation
Compass
12
–
13
immediately.Thisefficient combinationof
equal thrust performance in two
directions inflyingobjects isagenuine
first.
Absoluteprecisemovement
Theeight drivesareattachedalong the
“equator”of thespheres, four of them
alignedhorizontallyand four vertically.
Thehorizontal propellersenable the
spheres toflyupanddown, climbor
descendquickly. The four vertical drives
move thesphereshorizontally inall
directionsand rotate themabout their
vertical axis. Four of thepropellers turn
anticlockwiseand four clockwise. This
means that there isalwaysan
anticlockwisedrive locatedoppositea
clockwiseone. The torquesare thus
neutralisedand theeMotionSpheres can
besteered inanyspatial direction toan
accuracyof one centimetre.Thespheres
themselvesarecontrolleddecentrallyby
theactivationof theeightmotors. The
flyingspheresalso contain the
correspondingonboardelectronicswith
12processors, aswell as the radiounit,
thebatteryand four power LEDs,which
light up toprovidevisual support for the
choreography.
Viewing theareaasawhole
Toenable freeflight inaspecific space,
eachsphere is recordedbyat least twoof
the ten cameras. The camerasare
positionedso that theymapout theflight
areaasawhole. Thespecial filtersof the
camerasonly capture infrared light and
arenot sensitive toother light. The
camerasdetect thepositionof the
spheresand their orientation in thespace
through the four infraredLEDson the
outsideof eachsphere. They canalso tell
theoptically identical flyingobjectsapart.
Anewdirection formanandmachine
The fascinatingeMotionSpheresare the latest innovation from the FestoBionic LearningNetwork. The Festonetwork
includes renowneduniversities, institutesanddevelopment companiesandworks closelywithspecialists fromother
departmentsaswell asexternal partners fromall over theworld.
TheBionic LearningNetwork ispaving theway for theproductionof the future. Theexpertsdevelop fundamental
technologies for networkedsystemsand the interactionof humansandmachines. TheeMotionSpheres illustratesafe
interactionbetweenhumansandmachines. In termsof possible industrial applications, theycouldbeusedasacontrol
system for productionhalls. TheeMotionSpheresarean impressivedemonstrationof how the real andvirtualworlds
are continuing togrow together.
Theactive infraredmarkerson the
spheresoffer adecisiveadvantageover
passive reflectors. Their light onlyhas to
cover thedistancebetween thesphere
and camera. A larger space can therefore
be coveredwith thesamenumber of
cameras. The fact that themarkersarenot
permanently lit andflash for onlya
millisecondmeans that theyare long
lastingandenergyefficient. Depending
on theflight speed, buoyancyand
manoeuvres that areflown, thespheres
spendup to twohours in theair. They
thenstopautonomouslyat their charging
stations. They can thereforebeusedas
flyingobjects for several dayswithout a
personhaving to intervene.
Modern infrared technology:
exact positioningof thespheres.
Pioneering rolemodel:
theBionicOpterwingprinciple transferred
to thedrive technologyof theeMotionSpheres.
Movingpictures:
Simplyscan theQR code
towatch thevideo.
