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Modern technology is being transformed by designs inspired by nature. Engineers are coming up with effective solutions by imitating the environment they’re in. Innovation can be stimulated by natural processes through the application of biomimicry in engineering. In order to develop sustainable and flexible technologies, engineers are researching living things. Energy, materials, and architecture are among the fields that gain from this.
Biomimicry is the process of using natural structures and processes to solve human problems. Effective designs are the product of billions of years of evolution. Engineers learn from nature rather than creating things from the ground up. For instance, modern aeroplanes have been inspired by the flight mechanics of birds. Therefore, engineering solutions are guided by short, effective designs observed in nature.
Unexpected Applications of Biomimicry
Velcro! How would we manage without it? The fact that this simple clamping mechanism is borrowed from nature may surprise you. George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, discovered tiny burrs from the burdock plant adhered to his dog's fur when they were hunting in 1941. Upon closer examination, he discovered that these tiny hooks and loops might be used to make clothes or garment closures. This led to the invention of velcro, which modern society has been utilising ever since.
Mould is a unicellular organism that is capable of mapping very complex routes and communicating information for finding its food all without a brain, a nervous system or any of the organs we imagine when we think of these complex tasks. Slime moulds have existed for about a billion years and have evolved over that time to be really efficient and adaptive towards their one singular goal of feeding and surviving. So when a group of scientists in Japan placed its favourite food, oat flakes, at various locations corresponding to the major cities in Japan, this creature was able to, within a matter of 5-6 days, map out the complex rail network which took Japanese engineers years to plan and map. This technology, perfected in nature, can really help in traffic mapping in new emerging countries in Africa and Asia and city and housing development planning.
When diving and swimming in their aquatic habitats, beavers stay warm thanks to their thick coat of blubber. However, they have an additional tactic to keep warm. These aquatic creatures stay dry and warm thanks to their extremely thick fur, which traps warm air pockets between layers. Because they believed surfers would value the similar capacity, engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed rubbery, fur-like pelts that they claim might be used to produce "bioinspired materials," like wetsuits.Â
Works Cited
Admin (2024). Biomimicry in Engineering and Nature-Inspired Innovation. [online] Blogs - My WordPress Blog. Available at: https://krce.ac.in/blog/biomimicry-in-engineering-and-innovating-through-natures-solutions [Accessed 5 Nov. 2024].
Anon, (n.d.). Hook and Loop | VELCRO® Brand Textile Fasteners and Closures. [online] Available at: https://www.velcro.com/business/products/textile-hook-and-loop/.
Learn Biomimicry (2022). The Best 50 Biomimicry Examples and Inventions of All Time. [online] www.learnbiomimicry.com. Available at: https://www.learnbiomimicry.com/blog/best-biomimicry-examples.