Is it a Bird? Is it a Plane? No, it's BionicOpter!

“The lightning spark of thought generated in the solitary mind awakens its likeness in another mind,” essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle once wrote. This is the main idea behind the Bionic Learning Network.

Created by

Festo

, a leader in automation and industrial training and development, the

Bionic Learning Network

is a research network that links Festo to institutes, development companies, private inventors and renowned universities—including the University of Cincinnati.

Festo and its Bionic Learning Network strategic partners are gearing up to celebrate the city of Mason’s bicentennial by hosting “Mason Innovation Week” the week of Oct. 26.  Festo opened its new regional service center in Mason earlier this year.

The week kicks off with displays by Festo of several of its robotic animals and culminates in the UC-Festo Bionic Learning Showcase.  Hosted by the

College of Engineering and Applied Science

on UC's Uptown campus, the event highlights the company's successful UC collaboration with industry to advance education and research. 

The event serves as a visual demonstration of how unique public-private partnerships can advance community education and promote the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) mission, as well as attract professional talent and advance community-wide collaboration among businesses.

The University of Cincinnati, the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science, Mason City Schools, Kings Mills Schools, Sinclair Community College and other key members have worked closely with Mason’s economic development team and Festo in planning the week-long event.

Mason Innovation Week Events:

Monday, Oct. 26:

The week kicks off with a “Celebratory Presentation of Innovation” at the Mason Municipal Building. Mason Mayor David F. Nichols began the welcome festivities and was followed by Festo's robotics demonstrations.

Tuesday, Oct. 27:

The UC Robotics Club and CEAS faculty advisor Paul Talaga displayed the club's traveling robot and quadcopters at the “Night of Innovation” event. About 800 Mason and Kings third-grade families explored the interactive night of science and technology hosted by Mason High School.

Wednesday, Oct. 28:

The Bionic Learning Network strategic partners will participate in a Kings High School presentation in Kings High School's auditorium.

Thursday, Oct. 29:

Collaborators will gather at Festo for “Festo Corporate Day.”

Friday, Oct. 30:

The week will finish with a bang as the UC College of Engineering and Applied Science hosts the “UC-Festo Bionic Learning Showcase,” set for 1-3 p.m. at the UC Campus Rec Center. Festo will be demonstrating its engineering marvels, the SmartBird and the BionicOpter.* The European American Chamber of Commerce, UC Propel, UC Robotics Club and the UC UAV Group will also be participating in the day’s festivities.

Due to space limitations, Mason Innovation Week is an invitation-only event and seeks to expose students to these immersive experiences to foster STEM education. However, the public is invited to tune in to a livestream broadcast of Mason Innovation Week events.

After the event, a library of the livestreamed events will be posted for additional viewing

here

.

* The SmartBird is an autonomous ornithopter inspired by the herring gull, with an emphasis on better aerodynamics and maneuverability. The BionicOpter is a robotic dragonfly capable of maneuvering in all directions, hovering in mid-air and gliding without beating its wings.

Festo at a glance

Festo is a global leader in automation technology, and the world market leader in industrial training and education. Festo’s pneumatic and electric drive technology stands for innovation in industrial and process automation – from individual products to ready-to-install solutions. Festo’s hallmarks include a global presence and improving customer productivity through close, long-term partnerships. With over 300,000 customers globally in over 200 industry sectors and 16,800 employees worldwide in 61 national companies, Festo’s sales for 2014 were 2.34 billion Euros. This year, the third generation family-owned company celebrates the 90th anniversary of the company’s founding, and 43 years in the US.

About Festo’s Bionic Learning Network

Learning from nature: In Festo’s Bionic Learning Network, a cooperation between Festo and renowned universities and development companies, principles from nature provide inspiration for technical applications and industrial practice. As technological leader and a learning company, Festo’s objectives for the Bionic Learning Network go well beyond developing new technologies: to motivate, inspire and enthuse and to kick-start innovation. Thus, Festo becomes a development partner and a driving force for customer innovations. With its bionic projects Festo demonstrates the solution expertise in a way that will inspire young people to take an interest in technology and helps us to discover new talent.