Page 4 - trends in automation

Editorial 3
Panorama 6
Festo worldwide 43
About this magazine 45
Soft Stop 46
In focus Time The calendar clock in the
Festo TechnologyCentre shows the time ­
with absolute accuracy. Many companies
lose time – in development, production,
­logistics and management. In this issue of
trends in automation you’ll learn to see time
in a different light. We’ll show you how to
identify and eliminate time drains.
2.2013 trends in automation
The keeper of time
Prof. Dr. Joachim H. Ullrich is President of
the PTB – Physikalisch-Technische Bundes­
anstalt – in Braunschweig (Germany’s
­national metrology institute). In this inter-
view he explains what makes (atomic)
clocks tick. 8
Inspiration
Lightweight aerial acrobat
The BionicOpter is the perfect techno­
logical simulation of the dragonfly and
moves through the air with ease. 12
Frictionless movement
Superconductors work by hovering,
are resistance-free and energy efficient.
Three examples show possible applica-
tions for automation technology. 16
Finger on the pulse
Festo can look back on a long history and
had its finger on the pulse from the very
early days of pneumatics. Have a look at
the Festo gallery. 18
Compass
BionicOpter: Lightweight
construction with intelligent
kinematics. 12
“Our fountain atomic clocks
are among the most accurate
in the world.” 8