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Tools for Innovation:Biomimicry

Jonathan Weaver & Darrell KleinkeUDM Mechanical Engineering Department

weaverjm@udmercy.edu kleinkedk@udmercy.edu

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References

• As noted within

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Dubai#cite_note-30 on 20091206

What is the world’s tallest skyscraper?

… and what does a flower have to do with it?

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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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Biomimicry (or Bionics, Biomimetics, or Biognosis)

“Life has been performing design experiments on Earth’s R&D lab for 3.8 billion years. What’s flourishing on the planet today are the best ideas---those that perform well in context, while economizing on energy and materials. Whatever your company’s design challenge, the odds are high that one or more of the world’s 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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Nature’s 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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http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-About-Velcro-161535230

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastgate_Centre,_Harare,_Zimbabwe.jpg

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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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Lizard Inspired Sandbot

• Sand is slippery and can act as a fluid or a solid and accurate models of the behavior of sand have yet to be developed

• Georgia Tech is studying how the zebra-tailed lizard runs across the desert to build robots that can traverse any type of terrain – including sand

http://spectrum.ieee.org/robotics/robotics-software/march-of-the-sandbots

(20091105)

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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/Biomimicryhttp://www.soundforesight.co.uk/new/ultracane5.htm

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Biomimicry – Water Mixer Example• Water agencies must

constantly mix water to prevent stagnation

• The Calla Lilly’s centripetal spirals provide an ideal flow of liquid

• The mixer shown runs with a fraction of the power required for a conventional mixer

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/01/nature-inspired-innovation-9-examples-of-biomimicry-at-work-image-gallery.php?page=3

http://www.paxscientific.com/

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Butterfly Wing Inspires Glare-Proof Displays

• Early cell phone displaces were difficult to read in bright light conditions

• Nanoscale structures on the Blue Morpho butterfly wing cause incoming light waves to interfere with one another, reflecting only specific wavelengths of brilliant color

• The iMod display flashes brilliant colors while drawing only a fraction of the electricity required to power a typical liquid crystal display

Sources: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2007/06/01/100050991/index.htm http://jartiuch.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/qualcomm-imod-displays/

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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 paintshttp://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=EC129p27.pdf

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Shinkansen

• Front end modeled after kingfisher’s beak to minimize tunnel entry/exit shockwave

• Pantograph supports have serrations modeled after owl plumage to reduce wind noiseBiomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, J. Benyus, Perrenial NY, 2002

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Venus Flytrap Inspires New Way to Trap Nuclear Waste

• The structure has "windows" measuring 0.8 nanometers by 0.3 nanometres - just large enough for caesium ions to squeeze through

• Once inside, caesium bonds with sulphide ions triggering closing of the window

Source: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527455.300-molecular-venus-flytrap-could-munch-nuclear-waste.html

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• Lattice structure inspired by the orderly latticework of tiny ridges in the thighbone

• Such bone-inspired latticework has become an architectural norm today

Eiffel Tower

http://www.harunyahya.com/books/science/biomimetics/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/2004/10/1013_041013_smart_clothing.html

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Electric Eels Inspire Possibly New Battery Technology

• An experiment at a Japanese aquarium that used eels to light Christmas lights inspired NIST researchers to build artificial cells that copy the eel’s electric generation capability

Source: http://www.economist.com/science-technology/technology-quarterly/displaystory.cfm?story_id=15048719

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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-electron-don.php

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Honeycomb Inspired Tire

• Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13639_3-10098240-42.html

• 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

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A Material Based on Sharkskin Stops Bacterial Breakouts

• Similar to the texture of sharkskin, Sharklet’s three-micrometer-wide diamond-shaped pattern prevents bacteria from taking root

• Scientists have printed that pattern on an adhesive film that will repel bacteria pathogens from hospitals and public restrooms

Source: www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/saving-skin#

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Toyota Working on Night Vision System Inspired by Dung Beetles

• Toyota engineers have developed camera software which takes inspiration from nocturnal dung beetles, bees and moths that can see across a remarkable range of color, brightness and shadow

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-01/full-color-night-vision-drivers-based-insect-eyes

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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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Mercedes-Benz Bionic Concept Vehicle

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

Source: http://www.designboom.com/contemporary/biomimicry.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/content/feb2008/id20080211_074559.htm

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Regen Energy

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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

http://blogs.asee.org/goengineering/biomimicry-natural-designs/

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Other Designs Inspired by Nature

• 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 shark’s skin

• Probes for sampling liquids of various viscosities modeled after a butterfly’s proboscis

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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 nature’s 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 RicaDesign Workshop, 2007

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Biomimicry Taxonomy

• A nice taxonomy is available at:– http://www.asknature.org/strategy/7e5683b29f576ebcb

7b39f567b7768c2#

• Link to word doc