BionicMotionRobot

Facts

Company

Festo

Product type

industrial_robot_arm

Status

research

Primary capability

manipulation_research

Website

https://www.festo.com/us/en/e/about-festo/research-and-development/bionic-learning-network/bionic-grippers-and-soft-robots/bionicmotionrobot-id_33307/

About 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.

Market context

https://zlsbkmaixmmnjrgpkcyp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/robotics_assets/products/korthos-product-candidates-2026-08-18-batch-6/festo-bionicmotionrobot-official-16x9.jpg, soft_robotic_arm, robot, 1600, 900, 58eb42ebc1cdd2709eac4157e4bbc688fa637c3e84678602b72d6bb8ae104366, reviewed_16x9_official_media, Soft Robot Arm, robotics_assets, https://www.festo.com/us/en/e///-id_33307/, https://www.festo.com/us/en/e///-id_33307/, official, https://zlsbkmaixmmnjrgpkcyp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/robotics_assets/products/korthos-product-candidates-2026-08-18-batch-6/festo-bionicmotionrobot-official-16x9.jpg, industrial_cobot, products/korthos-product-candidates-2026-08-18-batch-6/festo-bionicmotionrobot-official-16x9.jpg, 2026-08-18, robotic_arm, false, false, cover, industrial_robot, 2026-08-19, 2026-08-28T13:24:27.259Z, cover, exact_product_confirmed_2026-08-19, Soft Robot Arm, industrial_robot, true, verified existing controlled taxonomy; no Other; humanoid and semi-humanoid labels retained unchanged, 119, 2026-08-28T13:24:27.259Z, 2026-08-28T13:24:27.259Z, existing_category_confirmed, robotic_arm, industrial_robot, 2026-08-28T13:24:27.259Z, 2, 0.128, true

Summary

Type: Research arm

Core: Soft manipulator

Function: Flexible manipulation

Audience: Researchers

Specifications

actuation

Pneumatic actuation with Festo Motion Terminal VTEM

control_system

Festo Motion Terminal VTEM provides pneumatic control

features

pneumatic bellows count: Twelve pneumatic bellows across three flexible segments; bellows per segment: Four pneumatic bellows per segment; flexible segment count: Three flexible basic segments; structural material: 3D textile knit with e...

payload_capacity_kg

Payload approximately 3 kg

range

motion range: Segments can bend simultaneously in three directions

sensing

Optical shape sensor for arm-shape feedback

Operations

Deployment environment

research_lab, industrial_robotics

Primary user

robotics_researchers, automation_engineers

Workflow

compliant_manipulation_research, soft_robotics_demonstration

Interaction model

programmed_motion, closed_loop_shape_control

Mobility class

fixed_soft_robot_arm

Product detail

https://zlsbkmaixmmnjrgpkcyp.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/robotics_assets/products/korthos-product-candidates-2026-08-18-batch-6/festo-bionicmotionrobot-official-16x9.jpg, soft_robotic_arm, robot, 1600, 900, 58eb42ebc1cdd2709eac4157e4bbc688fa637c3e84678602b72d6bb8ae104366, reviewed_16x9_official_media, Soft Robot Arm, robotics_assets, https://www.festo.com/us/en/e///-id_33307/, https://www.festo.com/us/en/e///-id_33307/, official, https://zlsbkmaixmmnjrgpkcyp.supabase.co/storage/v1/ob...