What is Biomimetics?
Biomimetics, sometimes known as bionics or biomimicry, is the art of taking natural adaptive strategies used by plants or animals and translating them into engineering designs that can be used to implement products or tools. Biomimetics is also a relatively recent academic field based on using these strategies, centered at the University of Bath in the UK, but with adherents everywhere. Rather than looking at it as an independent field, biomimetics is probably better described as a frame of mind that can be held by any inventor or scientist. There are many obvious applications of biomimetics. Velcro is meant to simulate the grasping effect of plant burrs. Water and dirt-resistant paint is said to mirror the hydrophobic skin of the lotus. Fabric can be used to create an artificial canopy. Some unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) simulate various aspects of insects used in flying and clinging to walls. Radar and sonar allegedly imitate the echolocation faculties of bats. An artificial pacema
The Centre for Biomimetics at the University of Redding concisely defines the science of biomimetics as “the abstraction of good design from nature.” Another way to define it would be the intentional imitation of nature. The goal of this scientific field is to identify specific desirable qualities and attributes in biological systems and then use them in the design of new products. Once again, then, we see that nature can serve as an important source of inspiration to foster innovation. Industrial applications designers can exploit millions of years of tinkering and tweaking by borrowing from nature’s best designs and applying these to new problems and situations. A classic application of the principle of biomimetics can be seen in the invention of the revolutionary product Velcro®. Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral notes that he got the inspiration for this hook-and-loop fastening system after examining the burrs that clung to his dog’s coat after their daily walk. An Ocean of Inspira
Basically, biomimetics uses ideas and designs from nature and implements them into another technology or field such as engineering, design and computing. In their struggle to survive, plants and animals have evolved solutions to the same kind of problems that scientists and engineers confront today. As a result, biologists, designers and engineers are increasingly working together, using these solutions from the natural world. The concept is very old. The Chinese wanted to make artificial silk 2000 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci wanted to fly 400 years ago. The most recent semi-historical reference refers to a meeting held at a large research establishment at Wright-Patterson airbase in Dayton Ohio in the 1950s, in which USAF personnel invented the word bionics which they defined as copying nature and taking designs from nature. In the last few years, the term biomimetics has been picked up and applied to our ever increasing need for sympathetic technology. Implementation is gathering mo
