Attack of the 3D Printed Ants! Well, Sort Of.

German engineers at Festo have revealed their two new, animal-inspired robots recently and are claiming that these kinds of robots could develop into the factory workers of the future.

So, what’s the deal with these BionicANTs?

Every year, Festo unveils robots inspired by animals, which are designed to capture the anatomy, movemen,t and instincts of whatever animal engineers are working with. In previous years, Festo has released kangaroos, seagulls, jellyfish that float in the air, and dragonflies. This year, developers have focused on cyborg ants and cooperative artificial butterflies, which they will be featuring at the world’s biggest industrial technology fair in April, Hannover Messe.

Known as BionicANT’s, (ANT standing for Autonomous Networking Technologies), the bodies of these robots are created by combining printed plastic powder, melted with a laser layer-by-layer. The electronic circuit on the top of the ANT’s body is also 3D printed. These cyborg ants are about the size of a human hand, and have six articulated legs, like real ants. They weigh a quarter of a pound and are 1.5 inches high, 5.3 inches long and 6 inches wide.

True to the species that inspired them and their Autonomous Networking Technologies name, these ANTs use their collective intelligence to achieve common goals. They converse with each other wirelessly through a radio module in their abdomen and their antennae work as charging contacts for the lithium batteries that charge the ants’ movements. Each of the units is also equipped with 3D stereo camera systems on their heads and floor sensors which help the ANTs to figure out their relative location to one another and to specific objects. Together with other ANTs, they can band together to lift heavy loads and move objects they couldn’t manage alone. For this purpose, they have grippers at the front part of their heads like real ants.

Festo representatives believe that these BionicANTs are a glimpse into the future of factory labor. Factories will finally be able to build customized workers to fit their manufacturing goals and needs. The ANTs are just one model of the types of “workers” we can expect in the future. To know whether this will lead to a useful application in robotics or some kind of Orwellian nightmare, we’ll have to wait and see.