Festo's Bionic Learning Network turns nature's designs into products and talent

Festo, the German automation company, had worked on bionics—transferring natural mechanisms into technology—since the early 1990s, then formalized it in 2006 by founding the Bionic Learning Network with universities, institutes and development companies. Interdisciplinary teams of engineers, designers, computer scientists, biologists and students build prototypes each year.

The stated goals are broader than R&D: network and motivate people across sectors, track research trends, test new manufacturing methods, get customer feedback, and 'show solution competence in an appealing way in order to inspire young people and find new talents.' Projects like SmartBird, AquaPenguin and the Bionic Handling Assistant—awarded the German Future Prize in 2010—serve as technology test beds and eye-catchers.

The prototypes feed real products: the FinGripper, inspired by fish fins and made by selective laser sintering, is used on Festo machines that handle delicate materials. Head of bionic projects Elias Knubben described the method as looking to nature for a biological role model when researching solutions for customers' unsolved problems.

Let nature and universities do the prototyping

Nature offers millions of years of tested designs for free

University partners bring talent and ideas at low fixed cost

Showpiece robots market the brand and recruit engineers

Proven mechanisms migrate into series products

Open research with outsiders can be cheaper and faster than a closed lab—if the showpieces feed a product pipeline and a talent funnel.

The Bionic Learning Network became a durable innovation institution, releasing new bionic concepts nearly every year and expanding into bionic education kits for students, while Festo positioned itself as a development partner for OEM customers.