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Bee‐inspired joint, 3D printing, testing, and application. A) Bee‐inspired joint with the ability to be Ai) locked and Aiv) unlocked, and it restricts Ai) motions in tension and compression but allows Aii) rotation and Aiii) sliding. B) 3D printing and testing. 3D printed joint Bi) in the unlocked position, Bii) in the locked position, Biii) under compression, Biv) under tension, Bv,Bvi) when sliding, Bvii,Bviii) when rotating. C) Conceptual cartridge razor. Ci,Cii) The design is supplemented with two bee‐inspired joints and is shown in Ciii) locking, Civ) rotating, and Cv) unlocking states.
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Wing‐to‐wing coupling mechanisms synchronize motions of insect wings and minimize their aerodynamic interference. Albeit they share the same function, their morphological traits appreciably vary across groups. Here the structure–material–function relationship of wing couplings of nine castes and species of Hymenoptera is investigated. It is shown t...
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Citations
... In biological systems, attachment solutions are often considered based on the attachment principle and the functional loads, e.g. hooks, suckers, clamps, expansion anchors, adhesive secretions, frictions, lock and snaps, and spacer attachment systems, following Gorb's classification [9][10][11][12]. ...
... (k) Adapted from [52], with permission from Springer Nature. (m) Adapted from [10]. CC BY 4.0. ...
... Hooks are curved features that catch onto a complementary loop (engineered hooks), a substrate, or another organism (biological hooks). In biology, hook-like attachment mechanisms are widely used by parasites to latch onto their host [9]. Figure 4(B) shows other examples of biological hooks: bees and wasps' wing attachment mechanisms [10], and spider feet [9,53,78]. Hooks are found in various everyday life systems, including locks, Velcro TM ( figure 4(B)), carabiners, and in robotics [9,54,79]. ...
Interlocking metasurfaces (ILMs) are patterned arrays of mating features that enable the joining of bodies by constraining motion and transmitting force. They offer an alternative to traditional joining solutions such as mechanical fasteners, welds, and adhesives. This study explores the development of bio-inspired ILMs using a problem-driven bioinspired design (BID) framework. We develop a taxonomy of attachment solutions that considers both biological and engineered systems and derive conventional design principles for ILM design. We conceptualize two engineering implementations to demonstrate concept development using the taxonomy and ILM conventional design principle through the BID framework: one for rapidly assembled bridge truss members and another for modular microrobots. These implementations highlight the potential of BID to enhance performance, functionality, and tunability in ILMs.
... The wing-to-wing coupling mechanism in Hymenoptera functions as a multifaceted joint, linking the forewing's rolled membrane to the hindwing's hook structures, enabling synchronized movement and improved aerodynamic performance [121,122]. This mechanism is composed of a rolled membrane positioned at the trailing edge of the forewing, accompanied by small hooks (or hamuli) arranged in a line along the leading edge of the hind wing, all attached to a vein at the leading edge of the hind wing where the hooks are embedded [123]. These hooks are movable and exhibit an elastic base to ensure the high mobility of wings [124]. ...
... Despite their seemingly delicate nature and occupancy of a mere ≈0.2% of the total wing area, these hooks play a crucial role in continuously transferring forces between the wings, withstanding forces up to 180 times the insect's body weight and 40 times the aerodynamic forces encountered during flight [123]. This robust design of the coupling mechanism is essential for maintaining functionality, particularly in scenarios involving frequent collisions, where it must endure forces surpassing typical flight stresses [123]. ...
... Despite their seemingly delicate nature and occupancy of a mere ≈0.2% of the total wing area, these hooks play a crucial role in continuously transferring forces between the wings, withstanding forces up to 180 times the insect's body weight and 40 times the aerodynamic forces encountered during flight [123]. This robust design of the coupling mechanism is essential for maintaining functionality, particularly in scenarios involving frequent collisions, where it must endure forces surpassing typical flight stresses [123]. Additionally, the microstructural properties of the wings contribute to their hydrophobicity and anti-fouling capabilities, which can be applied to the development of self-cleaning surfaces and materials resistant to biofouling in marine environments. ...
The extraordinary adaptations that Hymenoptera (sawflies, wasps, ants, and bees) exhibit on their body surfaces has long intrigued biologists. These adaptations, which enabled the immense success of these insects in a wide range of environments and habitats, include an amazing array of specialized structures facilitating attachment, penetration of substrates, production of sound, perception of volatiles, and delivery of venoms, among others. These morphological features offer valuable insights for biomimetic and bioinspired technological advancements. Here, we explore the biomimetic potential of hymenopteran body surfaces. We highlight recent advancements and outline potential strategic pathways, evaluating their current functions and applications while suggesting promising avenues for further investigations. By studying these fascinating and biologically diverse insects, researchers could develop innovative materials and devices that replicate the efficiency and functionality of insect body structures, driving progress in medical technology, robotics, environmental monitoring, and beyond.
... When we approach nature from an engineering perspective and focus on the mechanical design of natural systems, we uncover collective mechanical behaviours and emergent mechanical properties resulting from their specialized design. For example, observations of snake locomotion systems [9][10][11], fish body armours [12][13][14], gecko adhesive pads [15][16][17][18], insect flight systems [19][20][21][22][23][24], beetle fighting mechanisms [25,26] and many more indicate that natural mechanical systems consist of complicated material composition, nano-and micro-architecture and structural elements. This complicatedness can arise from two underlying design principles: (1) a network of simple design elements that collectively form a complex system and/or (2) a collection of complicated subsystems that together constitute the entire system. ...
Presenting a novel framework for sustainable and regenerative design and development is a fundamental future need. Here we argue that a new framework, referred to as complexity biomechanics, which can be used for holistic analysis and understanding of natural mechanical systems, is key to fulfilling this need. We also present a roadmap for the design and development of intelligent and complex engineering materials, mechanisms, structures, systems, and processes capable of automatic adaptation and self-organization in response to ever-changing environments. We apply complexity biomechanics to elucidate how the different structural components of a complex biological system as dragonfly wings, from ultrastructure of the cuticle, the constituting bio-composite material of the wing, to higher structural levels, collaboratively contribute to the functionality of the entire wing system. This framework not only proposes a paradigm shift in understanding and drawing inspiration from natural systems but also holds potential applications in various domains, including materials science and engineering, biomechanics, biomimetics, bionics, and engineering biology.
... One-way hinges and asymmetric bending and twisting are widespread in insect wings (1,2,12,19,(24)(25)(26)(27). They operate in flight, allowing the wings to deform automatically and asymmetrically between the upstroke and the downstroke and also in controlling the precise, complex patterns of folding and unfolding in the hind wings of beetles (Coleoptera) and of earwigs (Dermaptera) (17,18,28,29). ...
... Recent studies have tested and verified the scalability of some of the wing-derived strategies. A few examples include the development of durable kites, stiffness-varying splints, insect-inspired wings for medium-sized flapping-wing drones, airplane wing models and origami arms that resist collisions by undergoing reversible buckling, extensible robotic arms, confined-space crawling robots, and unlockable revolute joints (27,(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46). Based on our results, the double-layer membrane can work at different scales, but its effectiveness will clearly depend on overall size, relative wall thickness and section shape, and the properties of the material. ...
Insect wings are deformable airfoils, in which deformations are mostly achieved by complicated interactions between their structural components. Due to the complexity of the wing design and technical challenges associated with testing the delicate wings, we know little about the properties of their components and how they determine wing response to flight forces. Here, we report an unusual structure from the hind-wing membrane of the beetle Pachnoda marginata. The structure, a transverse section of the claval flexion line, consists of two distinguishable layers: a bell-shaped upper layer and a straight lower layer. Our computational simulations showed that this is an effective one-way hinge, which is stiff in tension and upward bending but flexible in compression and downward bending. By systematically varying its design parameters in a computational model, we showed that the properties of the double-layer membrane hinge can be tuned over a wide range. This enabled us to develop a broad design space, which we later used for model selection. We used selected models in three distinct applications, which proved that the double-layer hinge represents a simple yet effective design strategy for controlling the mechanical response of structures using a single material and with no extra mass. The insect-inspired, one-way hinge is particularly useful for developing structures with asymmetric behavior, exhibiting different responses to the same load in two opposite directions. This multidisciplinary study not only advances our understanding of the biomechanics of complicated insect wings but also informs the design of easily tunable engineering hinges.
... Bioinspired mechanical joints www.nature.com/scientificreports/ based on those of bees and wasps have been developed 57 . It is expected that the proposed coupling wings can be improved by incorporating these findings. ...
Insects have acquired various types of wings over their course of evolution and have become the most successful terrestrial animals. Consequently, the essence of their excellent environmental adaptability and locomotive ability should be clarified; a simple and versatile method to artificially reproduce the complex structure and various functions of these innumerable types of wings is necessary. This study presents a simple integral forming method for an insect-wing-type composite structure by 3D printing wing frames directly onto thin films. The artificial venation generation algorithm based on the centroidal Voronoi diagram, which can be observed in the wings of dragonflies, was used to design the complex mechanical properties of artificial wings. Furthermore, we implemented two representative functions found in actual insect wings: folding and coupling. The proposed crease pattern design software developed based on a beetle hindwing enables the 3D printing of foldable wings of any shape. In coupling-type wings, the forewing and hindwing are connected to form a single large wing during flight; these wings can be stored compactly by disconnecting and stacking them like cicada wings.
... Biomimetics is an interdisciplinary approach to solving technical problems through the abstraction, transfer and application of knowledge gained from biological models [15]. Insects have developed a variety of ways to easily and securely connect one structure to another, including mechanical interlocking [16]. A biomimetic approach can be deployed to harness the millions of years of evolutionary development in insects to conceive the needed mechanism. ...
... Another wing coupling mechanism using the same basic principle is found in wasps and described by Eraghi et al. [16]. May beetles and lady bugs have developed forms of mechanical interlocking through hooks to stabilize their elytra in their closed positions [31,32]. ...
While early studies on macroscopic self-assembly peaked in the late 20th century, recent research continues to explore and expand the field's potential through innovative materials and external control strategies. To harness this potential, a unit cell was designed and 3D-printed that could form a face-centered cubic lattice and stabilize it through a biomimetic mechanism for mechanical interlocking. The wing coupling structures of the brown marmorated stink bug were examined under a scanning electron microscope to be used as a source of bio-inspiration for the interlocking mechanism. A total of 20 unit cells were studied in five different self-assembly processes and in different compression scenarios. A maximum average of 34% of unit cells remained stable, and 20% were mechanically interlocked after self-assembly tests. The compression tests performed on a single unit cell revealed that the cell can withstand forces up to 1000 N without any plastic deformation. Pyramid configurations from 5-unit cells were manually assembled and assessed in compression tests. They showed an average compression force of 294 N. As the first study focused on self-assembly through mechanical interlocking, further studies that change the unit cell production and self-assembly processes are expected to improve upon these results.
Micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) have flexibility and maneuverability, which can offer vast potential for applications in both civilian and military domains. Compared to Fixed-wing/Rotor-wing MAVs, Flapping Wing Micro Robots (FWMRs) have garnered widespread attention among scientists due to their superior miniaturized aerodynamic theory, reduced noise, and enhanced resistance to disturbances in complex and diverse environments. Flying insects, it not only has remarkable flapping flight ability (wings), but also takeoff and landing habitat ability (legs). If the various functions of flying insects can be imitated, efficient biomimetic FWMRs can be produced. This paper provides a review of the flight kinematics, aerodynamics, and wing structural parameters of insects. Then, the traditional wings and folding wings of insect-inspired FWMRs were compared. The research progress in takeoff and landing of FWMRs was also summarized, and the future developments and challenges for insect-inspired FWMRs were discussed.
Spiral, one of the most well-known functional patterns in nature that can be observed in structures such as the proboscis of lepidoptera and snail shells or as vortices forming in flowing fluids, has long served as a source of inspiration for humans in the creation of numerous spiral-based designs. Double-spiral is a design derived from spirals, which has been previously presented and utilized as a compliant joint. Advantageous properties of double-spirals, such as easily adjustable design, multiple degrees of freedom, reversible extensibility, and tunable deformability make them promising candidates for the development of mechanically intelligent structures that exhibit unique behavior and reach desired functions, such as soft grippers, continuum manipulators, energy-dissipative structures, and foldable metamaterials. In this article, we first develop the Double-Spiral Design software to facilitate the design and modeling of double-spirals. We then design and manufacture five different spiral-based structures using three-dimensional (3D) printing, including (1) a freeform passive gripper, (2) a highly extensible enveloping gripper, (3) a mechanical interlocking structure, (4) an adaptive energy-dissipative structure, and (5) a compliant planar joint. Through practical experimentation, we test the functionality of the developed structures and showcase the potential of double-spirals for being used in various technical applications. This study represents a significant step towards a better understanding of double-spirals and demonstrates their broad but unexplored potential in engineering design.
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This article introduces WingSegment, a MATLAB app‐designed tool employing a hybrid approach of computer vision and graph theory for precise insect wing image segmentation. WingSegment detects cells, junctions, Pterostigma, and venation patterns, measuring geometric features and generating Voronoi patterns. The tool utilizes region‐growing, thinning, and Dijkstra's algorithms for boundary detection, junction identification, and vein path extraction. It provides histograms and box plots of geometric features, facilitating comprehensive wing analysis. WingSegment's efficiency is validated through comparisons with established tools and manual measurements, demonstrating accurate results. The tool further enables exporting detected boundaries as FreeCAD macro files for 3D modeling and printing, supporting finite element analysis. Beyond advancing insect wing morphology understanding, WingSegment holds broader implications for diverse planar structures, including leaves and geocells. This tool not only enhances automated geometric analysis and 3D model generation in insect wing studies but also contributes to the broader advancement of analysis, 3D printing, and modeling technologies across various planar structures.
