Powered by ceramic motors, guided by an optical laser and communicating via WiFi, a trio of bionic ants has teamed up to move an object across the floor.

Bionic ants produced by 3D printers are set to run the factories of the future, according to reports.

German engineers Festo are preparing to showcase the plastic ants, which are roughly the same size as a human hand and scuttle around in a similar fashion to their natural counterparts, at the world's biggest industrial technology fair in April.

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The ants are designed to imitate the cooperative behavior of their living counterparts. They're also fitted with a conductive antenna that enables them to autonomously recharge their own batteries.

The robot insects are part of Festo's Bionic Learning Network that uses natural examples as templates for designing machinery and equipment for industrial and technical uses.

The ants, called Bionic ANTs (Autonomous Networking Technologies), exhibit the same cooperative behavior seen in real ant colonies. Each comes with a head-mounted camera and communicates with other ants via a wireless network.

They have six legs made from flexible ceramic actuators and pincers that allow them to pick up and transport small objects.

Each of the machines measures 13.5 centimeters are is powered by two lithium batteries, which can be charged by the ants docking their antennae against a charging station.

Bionic ants are now part of growing menagerie of robotic animals. These smart robots include an elephant trunk that can learn to pick up objects and penguins that can swim and fly with the aid of helium-filled balloons.

Previously, German engineers designed robotic penguins that used 3D sonar to navigate through water and a remotely-controlled bionic kangaroo with spring-loaded legs to mimic the bouncing movement of its natural counterpart.

Tags3D-Printed Bionic Ants Can Manage Future Factories, 3D ants, 3D Bionic Ants, Robots, robotic ants, Bionic Ants