The incredible machine – from impulse to innovation

Twelve interactive, interconnected exhibit modules highlight the heritage and future of the company, provide insights into the entire product portfolio, honor the achievements of the employees, offer interactive elements for in-depth exploration and create individual visitor experiences through dialogue and interaction with Festo engineers. It makes the full spectrum of technological excellence tangible and accessible to all.

Inspiration for the exhibit was the Rube Goldberg principle: one impulse sparks the next. Rather than showcasing individual products in isolation, The Incredible Machine presents a continuous chain of motion – a mesmerizing sequence where technology and human interaction come together. It all begins with an “eMotionButterfly,” setting the system in motion and inviting visitors on a journey through Festo’s entire universe of products. Stretching 14 meters in length, a single motion impulse travels through 12 interconnected modules, triggering a cascade of mechanical and digital functions. The scale is breathtaking: more than 1,000 Festo products and over 1.8 kilometers of tubing and cabling come together in perfect harmony. Every impulse flows through Festo’s wide range of technologies, demonstrating unmatched automation expertise: from pneumatics to electrics, from handling fluids and components to digital data transfer. The seamless interplay of mechanics and media captivates visitors: Where is the impulse now? How do the processes interact?

The Incredible Machine premiered at the Festo stand at the Hannover Messe. During regular trade fair hours, it operated fully autonomously, providing the perfect setting for engaging customer conversations and expert consultations. The hourly highlight show transformed the stand into a magnet for attention, creating unforgettable moments that left a lasting impression on every visitor. The stand became a 360-degree immersive experience: media surfaces and the exhibit fused into a single stage, brought to life by a bespoke soundtrack. Inspired by the flutter of the butterfly, a mesmerizing visual flow cascaded across three LED surfaces all the way to the upper platform. At the show’s climax, the “eMotionButterflies” took flight, landed on The Incredible Machine and symbolically returned the impulse to its origin.

To create a harmonious overall picture, the rhythm of the machine was precisely synchronized with the digital level, module by module. The fluid transition between physical and media impulse transmission connected the various Festo worlds into a single entity. 

In the staging of the Incredible Machine, it is a butterfly that heralds change: as soon as visitors interacted with it, it began to move its wings, thereby triggering the entire chain of events. This poetic moment was captured with technical precision using real-time motion tracking with image recognition. A particular challenge here was the selection process to ensure that the system only tracked a specific interaction and was not distracted by the surrounding dynamics of other trade fair visitors. This initial impulse triggered the central machine control system, which seamlessly supplied all subsequent modules – both the Festo technologies and the media players – with control signals. To create a harmonious overall movement, the rhythm of the machine was synchronized precisely with the media playback, module by module. The fluid transition between physical and media impulse transmission allowed the different Festo worlds to merge with one another. The technical architecture of the Incredible Machine mastered two critical requirements: Each module operated completely independently and could be flexibly connected to any other. In addition, the system was designed to be redundant so that the impulse continued without interruption even if a module malfunctioned. Finally, a dedicated interface for media control ensured that the machine was perfectly integrated into the hourly highlight show during the Hannover Messe.