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Hannover Fair on the horizon—the enormous German manufacturing exposition runs from April 7-11 this year. Focus areas for the event include: Industrial Automation, Energy, MobiliTec, Digital Factory, Industrial Supply, IndustrialGreenTec, and Research & Technology.

held an online pre-Hannover press conference yesterday, and there are some interesting things on the horizon, according to the company.

One is touted as “SupraMotion 2.0,” a way to integrate superconductors into automation. Georg Berner, Head of Festo’s Strategic Corporate Development department, introduced the concept.

“For several years, Festo has already been investigating the use of this technology in automation engineering,” Berner said. “At the Hannover Messe 2014 we are showcasing three new, unique future concepts in the field of superconductivity.”

The three exhibits are electrically cooled, controlled in a decentralized system and don’t require control engineering to maintain the objects in a state of suspension. They demonstrate specific potential applications for this technology in automation, with a comprehensive solution package ranging from control engineering to temperature monitoring.

The other thing that caught my eye was the latest from Festo’s ever-fascinating Bionic Learning Network. This group, which has been responsible for many biomimicry projects, from robotic flying birds to actuators that resemble elephant trunks, is introducing the BionicKangaroo.

A Festo development team spent almost two years realistically emulating the jumping behavior of kangaroos.

“With the BionicKangaroo we have precisely reproduced the most characteristic features of natural kangaroos: Recuperating and storing energy, and then releasing it once more in the next bound,” said Dr.-Ing. Heinrich Frontzek, Head of Corporate Communication and Future Concepts. “In the artificial kangaroo, we realized the function of the natural Achilles tendon by means of an elastic spring element made of rubber.”

The condition monitoring, along with precise control technology, ensure the required stability when jumping and landing. The company is also showing how pneumatic and electric drive technology can be combined in a highly dynamic system. The team paid particular attention to the mobile energy supply for the artificial kangaroo. The kinematic system is made from laser-sintered components reinforced with carbon. As a result, the artificial animal weighs just seven kilograms with a height of around one meter, and it can jump to a height of 15 in. and up to a distance of 30 in. Even more susprising, the BionicKangaroo is controlled by physical gestures that an operator makes.

It will be interesting to watch and see what else comes out of Hannover in the coming weeks.