Tools for Innovation: Biomimicry

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Tools for InnovationBiomimicry

• Jonathan Weaver
• UDM Mechanical Engineering Department
• weaverjm_at_udmercy.edu

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References

• As noted within

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Quote

• Those who are inspired by a model other than
  Nature, a mistress above all masters, are
  laboring in vain.
• Leonardo DaVinci

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Preface

• Nature creates materials of an intricacy and
  functionality that we can only dream of. The
  inner shell of Abalone is twice as tough as our
  high tech ceramics. Spider silk, ounce for ounce,
  is five time stronger than steel. Mussel Adhesive
  works underwater and sticks to anything, even
  without a primer. Bone, wood, skin, tusks,
  antlers, and heart muscle - miracle materials all
  - are made to live out their useful life and then
  to fade back, to be reabsorbed by another kind of
  life through the grand cycle of death and
  renewal.
• http//academic.evergreen.edu/j/jirtas12/Biomimi
  cry.html

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Biomimicry (or Bionics, Biomimetics, or
Biognosis)

• Life has been performing design experiments on
  Earths RD lab for 3.8 billion years. Whats
  flourishing on the planet today are the best
  ideas---those that perform well in context, while
  economizing on energy and materials. Whatever
  your companys design challenge, the odds are
  high that one or more of the worlds 30 million
  creatures has not only faced the same challenge,
  but has evolved effective strategies to solve
  it.
• http//www.biomimicryguild.com/indexguild.html

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Natures Laws, Strategies, and Principles

• Nature runs on sunlight
• Nature uses only the energy it needs
• Nature fits form to function
• Nature recycles everything
• Nature rewards cooperation
• Nature banks on diversity
• Nature demands local expertise
• Nature curbs excesses from within
• Nature taps the power of limits

Source Biomimicry Innovation Inspired by
Nature, Janine Benyus
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Velcro

• Inspired by the seed burrs that stuck to his dog,
  Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral became inspired
  to create the hook-and-loop fastener we call
  Velcro
• http//academic.evergreen.edu/j/jirtas12/Biomimi
  cry.htmlvelcro

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Termite Thermal Regulation

• Incredible ability of termites to maintain
  virtually constant temperature and humidity in
  their Sub-Saharan Africa despite outside
  temperature variation from 3 C to 42 C
• Project TERMES (Termite Emulation of Regulatory
  Mound Environments by Simulation) scanned a
  termite mound, created 3-D images of the mound
  structure and provided the first ever glimpse of
  construction that may likely change the way we
  build our own buildings
• The Eastgate Centre, a mid-rise office complex in
  Harare, Zimbabwe, stays cool without air
  conditioning and uses only 10 of the energy of a
  conventional building its size
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry

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Echolocating Cane

• U Leeds (in the UK) modeled the echolocation
  technique used by bats
• They adapted their results to develop a cane for
  the visually impaired
• The UltraCane is manufactured, marketed and sold
  by Sound Foresight Ltd.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimicry
• http//www.soundforesight.co.uk/new/ultracane5.ht
  m

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Self Cleaning Paint

• The Lotus Effect of how lotus leaves bead water
  to remain clean has inspired a new generation of
  self-cleaning paints
• http//www.publish.csiro.au/?actview_filefile_i
  dEC129p27.pdf

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Shinkansen

• Front end modeled after kingfishers beak to
  minimize tunnel entry/exit shockwave
• Pantograph supports have serrations modeled after
  owl plumage to reduce wind noise
• Biomimicry Innovation Inspired by Nature, J.
  Benyus, Perrenial NY, 2002

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Glue Clues from Geckos

• A team of biomedical engineers and materials
  scientists at Northwestern U have developed a
  glue inspired by both Geckos and Mussels
• They mimic the microscopic hairs of the gecko but
  add a protein that mimics a protein the mussel
  uses to adhere to wet surfaces
• The result is a post-it note type of adhesive
  that works on wet or dry surfaces, even after
  being pulled away and reattached more than 1000
  times
• Glue Clues From Geckos, Discover
  Magazine, January 2008.

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Eiffel Tower

• Lattice structure inspired by the orderly
  latticework of tiny ridges in the thighbone
• Such bone-inspired latticework has become an
  architectural norm today

http//www.harunyahya.com/books/science/biomimetic
s/biomimetics08.php
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UK Armed Forces Clothing Inspired by Pine Cones

• It is difficult to correctly dress for the
  weather and layers can be cumbersome
• UK researchers are investigating clothing made of
  materials that react to temperature and moisture,
  much like pine cones

Source http//news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2
004/10/1013_041013_smart_clothing.html
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Underwater Acoustics

• Emulating dolphins frequency-modulating
  acoustics, EvoLogics developed an improved
  underwater acoustic telemetry system which is
  used in the Tsunami alert system in the Indian
  Ocean

http//www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wild
life/dolphin.php
Sources http//www.evologics.de/projects/underwa
ter/index.html http//www.biomimicryinstitute.or
g/case-studies/case-studies
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Fishbone Audio Sensor

• Tokyo Electron has created the fishbone sensor, a
  new type of audio sensor using the inner working
  of the human ear as a model
• Each of the 24 cantilevers of the fishbone sensor
  works like a human ear membrane and picks up
  individual frequencies

http//www.diginfo.tv/2007/04/16/070413-bs-stc-ele
ctron-don.php
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bioWAVE

• bioWAVE was created by BioPower systems.
• bioWAVE is a hydroelectric system that mimics the
  motion of plants, particularly kelp, to allow for
  maximum energy absorption.
• The motion of the waves move the fins, which
  turns a generator.
• Systems are being developed for 250kW, 500kW,
  1000kW capacities to match conditions in various
  locations.

Link to animation http//www.biopowersystems.com/
biowave-animation.php Sources http//www.triplep
undit.com/pages/mechanical-fin.php http//www.biop
owersystems.com/technologies.php
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Honeycomb Inspired Tire

• UW-Madison and a Wausau, Wis., company have come
  up with a 37-inch, bullet and bomb-proof Humvee
  tire based on a polymeric web so cool looking
  there's no need for hub caps

• Source http//news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-1009824
  0-42.html

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Robo Grasshopper

• Small robots have a tough time on rocky terrain
• Swiss engineers noticed grasshoppers and locusts
  can quickly cover up to three feet of uneven
  ground in a single hop
• They built a batch of microbots that can propel
  themselves eight feet into the air

Source http//www.popsci.com/stuart-fox/article/
2008-10/robo-hop
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New Medicine Inspired by Frog Skin

• U Penn scientists have developed a potent
  compound that mimics molecules in frog skin that
  stab bacteria to death
• Bacteria are adapting to conventional antibiotics
  by modifying their receptors to prevent the
  antibiotic from taking hold
• Countering this new drug would require the
  bacteria to fully restructure its membrane
• A Big Leap for Antibiotics, Popular Science
  Magazine, January 2008.

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Sunfish Tail Inspires Design

• MIT researchers study the tail action of sunfish
  to try to develop propellerless submarines

Source http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/692
4057.stm
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Mercedes-Benz Bionic Concept Vehicle

• Modeled after the boxfish, it has one of the
  lowest Cds ever tested (0.19 for the concept car)

Source http//www.designboom.com/contemporary/bi
omimicry.html
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Ford Example

• In 2005, Ford's Volvo Division developed an
  anti-collision system based on the way locusts
  swarm without crashing into one another
• Source http//www.businessweek.com/innovate/cont
  ent/feb2008/id20080211_074559.htm

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http//www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/flig
ht-school
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Bio-Inspired Ceramics

• Ceramics are lightweight and hard, but you can't
  make jet engines or automotive frames out of
  them because they'd shatter like dinner plates.
• Materials scientists have looked to the porous
  but resilient material called nacre that lines
  abalone shells and have developed a method for
  manufacturing nacre-like materials in the lab.
• The new method could lead the way to ceramic
  structural materials for energy-efficient
  buildings and lightweight but resilient
  automobile frames.

From Technologyreview.com, Thursday, December
04, 2008 Ceramics That Won't Shatter, by
Katherine Bourzac
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Bio-Inspired Ceramics (Cont.)

• The Berkeley ceramic "really shows that drawing
  our inspiration from nature in order to
  synthesize better materials can be very
  successful," says Julia Greer, a materials
  scientist at CalTech.

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Play excerpt from Modern Marvels Worlds
Sharpest beginning at 5320
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Other Designs Inspired by Nature

• Airplanes modeled after birds (wing and body
  shapes, falcon beak)
• Morphing airplane wings that change shape
  according to the speed and length of a flight,
  inspired by birds that have differently-shaped
  wings depending on how fast they fly
• Fish-inspired scales that easily slide over each
  other to enable the morphing airplane wings
• Boat hulls designed after the shapes of Fish
• Torpedoes that swim like tuna
• Submarine and boats hull material that imitates
  dolphin and shark skin membranes
• Radar and sonar navigation technology and medical
  imaging inspired by the echolocation abilities of
  bats
• Swimsuit, triathlon and bobsled clothing fabric
  made with woven ribbing and texture to reduce
  drag while maintaining movement, mimics sharks
  skin

http//blogs.asee.org/goengineering/biomimicry-nat
ural-designs/
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How to Think Like a Biomimic

• Determine what you want to do (not make)
• Identify key functions/purpose
• Look to see how nature achieves those functions
• Go observe natures genius and conduct research
  or talk to experts to find patterns or principles
  which may work for your problem
• Brainstorm , design and converse
• Refine the design

Source Biomimicry Guild, La Cusinga, Costa
Rica Design Workshop, 2007
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Source chicagotribune.com
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Class Exercise

• Lets try it!