BionicMotionRobot

BionicMotionRobot is Festo's pneumatic research manipulator built from three flexible segments without conventional rigid rotary joints. Four elastomer bellows move each segment, giving twelve independently regulated bellows structures. A three-dimensional textile knit constrains their expansion, while an optical shape sensor records the arm's position, form and interaction along its longitudinal axis.

Festo's Motion Terminal VTEM controls the pneumatic system, allowing the segments to bend simultaneously in three directions and reproduce smooth, trunk-like motion. Festo presents the platform as a bionic learning and soft-robotics concept with potential for human-adjacent assistance, including monotonous or physically demanding assembly work. That research positioning does not prove a general-purpose production workflow; any deployed task would still need suitable tooling, controls and application-level safety validation.