© Festo

For the 'BionicFlyingFox', the developers at Festo took a close look at the flying fox. Despite its wingspan of 2.28 m, the ultra-light flying object is capable of tight flight radii. This is made possible by its ingenious kinematics based on the scissor principle: the hand wing folds in during the upswing and spreads out again for a powerful downswing. To enable the 'BionicFlyingFox' to move semi-autonomously in a defined airspace, it communicates with a motion tracking system - in other words, the installation permanently records its position. At the same time, the system plans the flight paths and provides the necessary control commands. Take-off and landing are carried out by humans.