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Tools for Innovation:Biomimicry

Jonathan WeaverUDM Mechanical Engineering Department

weaverjm@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/Biomimicry.html

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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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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/Biomimicry.html#velcro

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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.htm

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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/?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 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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• 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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Underwater Acoustics

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

Sources: http://www.evologics.de/projects/underwater/index.html http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/case-studies/case-studies

http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/dolphin.php

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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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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.triplepundit.com/pages/mechanical-fin.phphttp://www.biopowersystems.com/technologies.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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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

C:\Docs\ENT450-550 Innovation and Creati

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6924057.stm

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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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http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-03/flight-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, 2008Ceramics 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: World’s Sharpest beginning at 53:20

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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 shark’s skin

http://blogs.asee.org/goengineering/biomimicry-natural-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 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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Source: chicagotribune.com

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Class Exercise

• Let’s try it!