Festo's strong and agile robot arm is based on the elephant's trunk, scares the bejesus out of us (video)

Festo's unveiled some pretty impressive tech over the years, from fluidic muscles to robotic flying penguins, but this next one has us a bit worried. The Bionic Handling Assistant is ostensibly patterned after the elephant's trunk, designed to be both agile and delicate... but have you seen the thing? We're pretty sure that it was patterned after the tentacles of Doctor Octopus, and that it will crush you and everyone you care about without a second thought. But if you're the trusting type, the company assures you that this is just the thing for all those delicate processes you've been meaning to automate but haven't been able to in the past: everything from handling fruit to animal husbandry is a cinch with this "hierarchically arranged system of muscles and evolutionary optimized movement patterns"! But don't take our word for it: peep the video after the break.

[mocax Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:55AM]

what's the name of that bad guy robot with similar tentacle-y arms in Gundam?

[zero1221 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:59AM]

@mocax Haven't a clue, but my first thought was Doctor Octopus from Spider-Man when I saw them.

[Broderbund Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:25AM]

@mocax I knew it was gonna bug me so I googled it. It was the Shenlong gundam from gundam wing, wufei piloted it.
It was green and had dragon stretchy arms

[garfieldfriends Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:32AM]

@Broderbund That gundam was freakin awesome- there was a flamethrower attached to the end so it could burn the living crap outta stuff - wish these arms could have flamethrowers then it would be even more awesome

[Miakandogadget Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:44AM]

A very fallic ending.

[Techno1q Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:12AM]

@mocax

This looks very evil. in few years we'll be stumbling to figure out how we turn it off, cause it will only do that voluntarily.

[Setesh Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:17AM]

@futurerheza

"Medical Droid: Yeah, but practice on a hot dog first. Otherwise you might rip your d**k off."

[poisonfist Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:24AM]

@mocax
If you are talking about the enemy robot from the original Gundam series, I think you are talking about Zugock. http://kanbisekai.up.seesaa.net/image/pw_20070226-02.jpg

[Magnulus Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:18AM]

@mocax See, MY immediate thought was
"Danger, Will Robinson! Danger! Danger!"

[commonman Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:08AM]

@futurerheza I want one to replace my penis!

[lecti Posted Apr 26th 2010 10:20AM]

@mocax as posonfist said, it's Zugock, which is an amphibious MS. It performs better than Gundam underwater (Amuro needed to take the fight out of water to survive) in the original series. There is an awesome fight sequence in War in the Pocket in the beginning involving amphibious assault by the same model as well. Man I miss the series when they were still good...

[ebloomca Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:47PM]

@mocax

Molest!

[Bratan Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:35PM]

@mocax
Just fill boxes with teddy bears and candies and install coin slot. That would make a kick ass claw machine!

[Physicsguy89 Posted Apr 26th 2010 5:59AM]

Next from Festo: Sentinels

[clydeseal Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:33AM]

@Physicsguy89 Where are the Avengers! Save us!

[DarthSidious Posted Apr 26th 2010 11:46AM]

@Physicsguy89 now if only my engineers could attach that to an AT-AT Walker.

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:36PM]

@Physicsguy89

Which Sentinels?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_%28comics%29
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programs_and_machines_in_the_Matrix_series#Sentinels

Just trying to pinpoint your geek reference.

[Physicsguy89 Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:01PM]

@Smart People Play Tuba

Matrix

[glenskey Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:00AM]

do you mean, Dr octavious?

[ChansteR Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:14AM]

@glenskey His real name was Dr. Octavious but his villain name was Doctor Octopus.

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:17PM]

"Guy named Otto Octavius winds up with eight limbs. What are the odds?"

Best line of the movie.

[Duvalin92 Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:05AM]

I want :D

[Lee IV Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:10AM]

Hmm... very interesting. As a busy nuclear physicist, atomic research consultant, inventor, and lecturer, I find that I oftentimes don't have enough hands for my work. Perhaps I could design a harness with of four of these arms, controlled via a brain-computer interface, to assist me with my research into atomic physics. Yes...

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:42PM]

Hey, make sure not to let the inhibitor chip get smashed. Word to the wise.

[SolidSnake Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:12AM]

Hide your children! It's Dr. Octavious!

[Wiggy Fuzz Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:19AM]

festo = skynet.

i won't sleep tonight, or tomorrow night, or forever :[

[macserv Posted Apr 26th 2010 1:48PM]

@Wiggy Fuzz

Festo Pneumatic & Electric Automation: a wholly owned subsidiary of Cyberdyne Systems.

[septentriones Posted Apr 27th 2010 11:03PM]

@Wiggy Fuzz Now I have this, the moaning language robot, BIG DOG, and those creepy doll faced robots assimilating into one evil entity in my mind. MAKE IT STOP!!!

(goes to whimper in a corner)

[JRKScope Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:23AM]

DOCTOR OCTAGONAPUS!

BLAAARGH!

[UrAwFuL Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:45AM]

QUICK! SOMEONE CALL SPIDER-MAN!!!

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Apr 26th 2010 2:21PM]

@UrAwFuL

Or not. As I recall Spidey got his @ss kicked by Doc Ock.

[savagemike Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:50AM]

Anyone else hesitate to check out the vid because of the animal husbandry claim in the article?

Also... octopus > elephant.
But still - very nice.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 26th 2010 6:51AM]

OMG - that is the biggest suppository I have ever seen. I knew they'd rise up and kill us all one day, but I never thought they'd do it that way. Apparently unnecessary cruelty is not an exclusively human trait.

[sweet greggo Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:10AM]

Today they pass around a big white peanut, tomorrow it's your liver. We have only limited time.

[Tes Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:14AM]

And so the end begins...

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:19AM]

But can they pull that plastic, white peanut from another robot's butt and eat it?

[Smart People Play Tuba Posted Apr 26th 2010 12:49PM]

@(Unverified)
I can see why you wish to remain "unverified."

[Zslap Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:21AM]

so thats what happened to dr octavious.....they sent him to the zoo!!!!

[JoeRodricks Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:37AM]

Ah the old- body {text-align: right;} -fail.

[goseki Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:52AM]

I for one welcome our elephantine robot overlords ...

[slee62 Posted Apr 26th 2010 7:54AM]

Those pincers look mighty pointy...
ARM WRESTLE !!!

[okeribok Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:17AM]

Doesn't look very accurate. Quite wobbly and jerky. Looks like our cars will still be built by tai-chi robots for now.

[clydeseal Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:36AM]

How does it know where the the man handing the white peanut is and how does it know where to had it off to the next arm? Can it see? Is it autonomous? Or is it programmed?

[balwheeler Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:36AM]

Aren't the "squiddy's" from the Matrix similar to these?

[Sogeking Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:42AM]

I'm crying right now.

[pixelator Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:50AM]

The beginnings of a Bender unit.

[Esteban Jobs Posted Apr 26th 2010 3:12PM]

@pixelator
Bender Bendington Rodriguez

[onlymyrailgun Posted Apr 26th 2010 8:57AM]

I think you mean to say that the mechanism is based on elephant trunk, but methinks this design is so common on TV and in movies that you can hardly say it's based on the elephant.

[Ethan Austin Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:04AM]

Dr. Octopus Begins!!!

Or is it Dr. Pachyderm?

[glamajamma Posted Apr 26th 2010 9:19AM]

Ok, Mr. Jones we have a new tool for prostrate exams. This will be a little uncomfortable...