 Festo Bionic Ants A group of small orange ants works together to haul a wood chip across a thin, smooth wire. Elsewhere, the bionic ant sits motionless in a shallow holding pen. It has a black plastic body adorned with gold conductive tracks which link external circuits and microchips. Two bionic ants approach a blue 3D form that resembles a leaf made of plastic mesh using their silver mandibles they grab onto the form and move it across the pen. One pulls, all the other pushes. Next, three bionic ants approach a similar form. They latch on and work together to move it across the pen. One ant watches the other two. Later, one of the ants approaches the wall of the pen. Lining up with the other two, it presses its bent wire antenna against a pair of thin metal rods and abruptly stops. An ant skitters across the pen and rotates on the spot. Its features are identified. Stereo camera eyes, piezoceramic mandible grippers, an undercarriage optical mouse sensor, a 7.2 volt to 300 volt transformer, switching circuits, 3D MID conductive tracks, and piezoceramic actuators with compliant lever mechanisms to manipulate each of the six legs. Inside the black body are two 7.2 volt batteries and charging antenna that protrude from the head. The bionic ant scuttles across the pen with a dozen others. It moves in slow motion, illustrating the slight bounce in its step in the lever mechanism in each leg. One of the lever mechanisms is tested in a lab. The technician works with a similar component which is assembled by a precise machine. Copyright 2015, Festo AG N Company.