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Engineering design, as the science framing the practice of design through the elaboration of tools and processes, is constantly evolving towards new innovative strategies. To thrive in their extremely competitive environment, it appears that both industrial and natural worlds are highly dependent on innovation, optimisation and selection. These com...
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... number of identified elements appears to be following a two-step tendency (Table 3). P-value: '***' < 0.001; '**' < 0.01; '*' < 0.05; '.' < 0.1 ...Context 2
... even if the results don't appear significantly different, 13 functions have a higher percentage of identification by biologists (supplementary table 3). Thus, the largest number of functions identified by biologists overall is due to the accumulation of small and disseminated differences. ...Context 3
... number of identified elements appears to be following a two-step tendency (Table 3). P-value: '***' < 0.001; '**' < 0.01; '*' < 0.05; '.' < 0.1 ...Context 4
... even if the results don't appear significantly different, 13 functions have a higher percentage of identification by biologists (supplementary table 3). Thus, the largest number of functions identified by biologists overall is due to the accumulation of small and disseminated differences. ...Citations
... Although the innovative potential of a top-down approach is thought to be smaller than that of a bottom-up one, it is considerably faster. Not because all emphasis is placed on efficiency, but in fact, because the thoroughness of collecting biological knowledge-the core ingredient of biomimetics-is being compromised by limiting the integration of biologists [28][29][30]. Many of the challenges outlined in this perspective arise from the shift from biological knowledge, based on fundamental biological research, as an unanticipated opportunity for innovation, to biological knowledge as mere means to a commercial or industrial end. ...
Biomimetics, bioinspiration, biomimicry, and related nature-inspired activities – collectively known as biom* – are witnessing an unprecedented surge in popularity, as they offer unparalleled opportunities for technological advancement, innovation, and sustainable development. The growing prevalence of biom*, however, has sparked moral debates regarding their approaches, emphasizing the need for universally applicable ethical guidelines that can effectively guide practitioners in their work. In this Perspective, we outline some of the moral, ethical, and legal challenges associated with biom*, particularly the scientific discipline of biomimetics, focusing on various issues surrounding our motivations for pursuing these approaches, the valuation of nature within them, and regulations in the commercialization of biological knowledge. By highlighting the challenges inherent in biom*, this Perspective aims to empower practitioners in the field to make informed decisions and take purposeful action. Specific recommendations are provided to guide them in choosing the right course of action for the right reasons.
... 10 Graeff et al. 11 proposed frameworks and tools to support communication and efficient use of biomimetics. Graeff et al. 12 showed the impact of possessing a background in biology and argued for a new methodological framework that takes biologists into account. These are effective tools. ...
Biomimetics is a technology that utilises biological structures for manufacturing, and is attracting attention globally in a wide range of fields. However, there are challenges in sharing and communicating development between researchers with different specialties. Biomimetic developments have conventionally been expressed in terms of unique or unconnected indicators, which makes it difficult to understand for outsiders and compare different topics. In this study, evaluation guidelines were developed to effectively share and compare. As the method is directly related to actual development, it is a new methodological framework used in the target-setting phase. Several indicators and criteria with both biology and engineering were set up, proposing ways of evaluating and expressing development topics. And, actual evaluations and comparison were performed on several examples. This study discusses the possible outcomes from the evaluated results, the applied use and the challenges of the evaluation method. A major advancement came with the use of composite indicators to evaluate results, which can be easily compared with other topics. It is expected to contribute to smoother communication and process, and to support decisions on the direction of development.
... the integration of various stakeholders, such as designers, biologists, engineers, etc., for what is their exact role and at which step [63][64][65][66]. Researchers agree that familiarity or expertise is required for working with tools. ...
The biological knowledge capture and its representation in bioinspired design are challenging as knowledge is widely scattered, bulky and complicated due to its cross-domain nature. There is a dearth of bioinspired design firms, and the roles
of their actors are ignored. Various causal and functional models developed hardly represent collective knowledge and are
less useful for designers. To overcome these challenges, we have used the Zachman Framework in two ways. The Zachman Framework is primarily used to represent complex objects with much information from an architectural perspective.
Firstly, by using the original Zachman Framework, we represent knowledge transfer in a bioinspired design organization.
Secondly, we modify the Zachman Framework to represent the biological entities. We present a complete description,
methodology, and approach for both these cases. The goal of first approach is to organize and represent captured knowledge transfer and make it readily available for stakeholders for making design decisions. The second approach as modified
framework is significant as it can represent knowledge of any biological entity in its entirety as a knowledge capsule.
The contribution of this paper is to propose approaches for using the Zachman Framework that provides a mechanism to
ensure that the holistic bioinspired knowledge activities are able to drive the bioinspired design cycle and applicable to
all bioinspired design studios. The guidance provided by the adapted Zachman Framework can help designers in deciding
whether to attend or to ignore the biological entity, supporting the learning environments and validating for the knowledge
addition in real-time applications.
... Snell-Rood (2016) revealed that out of 300 biomimetic studies fewer than 10% included scientists working in the field of biology. In other words, biology is key to bioinspiration but, interestingly enough, biologists are more and more being considered as 'outsiders' (Graeff et al., 2019(Graeff et al., , 2021. Additionally, numerous tools have been developed over the last couple of decades, the purpose of which is the facilitation of the bioinspiration process Wanieck et al., 2017). ...
... Additionally, numerous tools have been developed over the last couple of decades, the purpose of which is the facilitation of the bioinspiration process Wanieck et al., 2017). The majority of these tools, which paradoxically, are said to come from biology, have been designed by engineers to be used by engineers, not biologists (Graeff et al., 2019). Several challenges are likely to arise from an approach that fails to integrate biological knowledge. ...
For many biological systems different strategies, morphologies and/or behaviours have evolved in response to similar functional demands (a concept known as convergent evolution). The biodiversity on Earth thus holds a wealth of natural strategies that may provide tailored solutions to the social, economic and environmental challenges the world faces—a practice often referred to as biomimicry, biomimetics or bioinspiration. Despite the great potential and increasing popularity of bioinspiration as a research approach, deciding which biological systems to explore remains a challenging and complex task. Not only does the incompleteness of the knowledge about biodiversity inhibit the identification of suitable biological strategies, but also practitioners in the field of bioinspiration often rely on the assumption that natural structures are the result of evolutionary processes that strive for optimization, thereby failing to acknowledge the processes that might constrain adaptive evolution. The purpose of this chapter is threefold. First, we shed light on the evolutionary constraints and limitations that pose potential pitfalls for using biodiversity as a source of inspiration for innovation. Second, we highlight the central role that the study of convergent evolution could and should play in addressing the current challenges to approaches to bioinspiration. Finally, we provide valuable insights into methodological trends that might facilitate the identification and experimental analysis of biological systems and thereby advance our understanding of biological structures in novel ways. By engaging with these three lines of thought, we present a perspective on future directions for bioinspiration, drawing attention to the opportunities for improving the translation of biological knowledge into innovative solutions.
... For instance, the structure of butterfly wings has provided new methods for reducing glare on screens [5,6], and studies of gecko feet have inspired the development of novel robotic graspers and reversible adhesives [7,8]. However, biomimetic research tends to represent the tip of the iceberg of biological diversity [9][10][11][12]. The species that are often the focus of bio-inspiration (e.g., geckos, butterflies) are overrepresented in biomimetic research as "biological models" relative to their taxonomic representation [12,13]. ...
... First, prior experience tends to bias us toward biological models with which we are more familiar [29,30], as we often have the knowledge of these organisms to make the analogy bridge between biology and the focal problem. Databases such as AskNature can help those new to biology discover different organisms [31,32], but studies have shown that this is still a narrower range than that generated by biologists with more familiarity with biodiversity [11,33]. Tendencies toward familiar organisms further restrict our idea generation, similar to other cognitive biases (e.g., confirmation bias [34,35]). ...
... There was a small but significant relationship between an individual's self-ranked familiarity with a range of animal groups and the taxonomic diversity of models brainstormed in their first assignment (in terms of the number of taxonomic classes of animals). This finding parallels findings that when engineers collaborate with biologists with broad expertise on biodiversity, their lists of biological analogies are more diverse [11,33]. However, in our results, the correlation coefficient between expertise and the diversity of ideas was modest (~0.1), suggesting many other factors are at play. ...
(1) Generating a range of biological analogies is a key part of the bio-inspired design process. In this research, we drew on the creativity literature to test methods for increasing the diversity of these ideas. We considered the role of the problem type, the role of individual expertise (versus learning from others), and the effect of two interventions designed to increase creativity—going outside and exploring different evolutionary and ecological “idea spaces” using online tools. (2) We tested these ideas with problem-based brainstorming assignments from a 180-person online course in animal behavior. (3) Student brainstorming was generally drawn to mammals, and the breadth of ideas was affected more by the assigned problem than by practice over time. Individual biological expertise had a small but significant effect on the taxonomic breadth of ideas, but interactions with team members did not. When students were directed to consider other ecosystems and branches of the tree of life, they increased the taxonomic diversity of biological models. In contrast, going outside resulted in a significant decrease in the diversity of ideas. (4) We offer a range of recommendations to increase the breadth of biological models generated in the bio-inspired design process.
... Given the wide variety of topics and aims of the reviewed works, no standardised questionnaires have been found. Questionnaires, therefore, take different formats: Amazon Mechanical Turk is used once (Goucher-Lambert and Cagan 2019); a Likert scale tool evaluation (Graeff et al. 2019); binary and open questions (Pakkanen et al. 2019); ranking of preferences (Franceschini and Maisano 2019); or ad-hoc software tools (Li et al. 2019a). ...
... The opinions of stakeholders can be the core of the research study (Self 2019) or they can be used as part of usability tests (Takahashi et al. 2018). Most often, questionnaires and interviews are performed with users of a product (Selvefors et al. 2018;Roesler et al. 2019;Hanrahan et al. 2019;Ozer and Cebeci 2019); by active participants of the process under analysis, such as professionals in companies (Reimlinger et al. 2019;Wlazlak et al. 2019); or by students that are required to do a project (Vegt et al. 2019;Li et al. 2019a;Abi Akle et al. 2019;Graeff et al. 2019). The experts that participate in questionnaires or interviews are designers, architects, engineers (Li and Luximon 2018;Park-Lee and Person 2018;Pakkanen et al. 2019), or academic staff evaluating results (Morkos et al. 2019;Sung et al. 2019;McKinnon and Sade 2019). ...
The relation between scientific research and engineering design is fraught with controversy. While the number of academic PhD programs on design grows, because the discipline is in its infancy, there is no consolidated method for systematically approaching the generation of knowledge in this domain. This paper reviews recently published papers from four top-ranked journals in engineering design to analyse the research methods that are frequently used. The research questions consider the aim and contributions of the papers, as well as which experimental design and which sources of data are being used. Frequency tables show the high variety of approaches and aims of the papers, combining both qualitative and quantitative empirical approaches and analytical methods. Most of the papers focus on methodological concerns or on delving into a particular aspect of the design process. Data collection methods are also diverse without a clear relation between the type of method and the objective or strategy of the research. This paper aims to act as a valuable resource for academics, providing definitions related to research methods and referencing examples, and for researchers, shedding light on some of the trends and challenges for current research in the domain of engineering design.
... They have databases of living organisms and their functions which may be useful for the development of new designs in preliminary research work. These databases do not provide the potential solution available in nature, hence, they cannot replace biologists who have in-depth knowledge of biological mechanisms and strategies in the fabrication of bio-inspired designs [27,28]. Scientists can study the evolution and functional structures of extinct species by replication of their structures by biomimetic tools [29]. ...
Nature has always inspired innovative minds for development of new designs. Animals and plants provide various structures with lower density, more strength and high energy sorption abilities that can incite the development of new designs with significant properties. By observing the important functions of biological structures found in nature, scientists have fabricated structures by bio-inspiration that have been proved to exhibit a significant improvement over traditional structures for their applications in the environmental and energy sector. Bio-fabricated materials have shown many advantages due to their easy synthesis, flexible nature, high performance and multiple functions as these can be used in light harvesting systems, batteries, biofuels, catalysis, purification of water, air and environmental monitoring. However, there is an urgent need for sensitive fabrication instruments that can synthesize bio-inspired structures and convert laboratory scale synthesis into large scale production. The present review highlights recent advances in synthesis of bio-inspired materials and use of hierarchical nanomaterials generated through biomolecular self-assembly for their use in removal of environmental contaminants and sustainable development.
... Interdisciplinarity: The role of biologists in biomimetic project teams has been discussed previously [44][45][46], and the deep knowledge of biological models is a crucial part of the biomimetic process. On the other hand, the systemization of the process and the development of computational tools facilitating the process can enable engineers to complete the steps of the biomimetic process on their own [47][48][49]. ...
Biomimetic research has increased over the last decades, and the development process has been systemized regarding its methods and tools. The aim of biomimetics is to solve practical problems of real-life scenarios. In this context, biomimetics can also address sustainability. To better understand how biomimetics research and development can achieve more sustainable solutions, five projects of applied research have been monitored and analyzed regarding biological models, abstracted biological principles, and the recognition of the applied efficiency strategies. In this manuscript, the way in which sustainability can be addressed is described, possibly serving as inspiration for other projects and topics. The results indicate that sustainability needs to be considered from the very beginning in biomimetic projects, and it can remain a focus during various phases of the development process.
... The focus of biomimetic design is to identify relevant biological strategies [7]. Generally, the common search process of identifying relevant biological strategies for a given engineering problem can be concluded in three parts: consulting biologist, processing natural language source of knowledge and using biological strategies in biomimetic database [8], as shown in Fig. 1a. However, biomimetic design as a biological knowledgedriven design method is challenging because it requires biological and engineering knowledge [9,10]. ...
The biomimetic design provides an adequate solution to attain an excellent design. However, the prototype space for biomimetic design is relatively large, and it becomes more and more challenging to find the required biological prototypes efficiently and accurately. To improve the design efficiency and enrich the biomimetic information, this paper proposes a coupled biological strategies-enabled bidirectional encoder representation from transformers (BERT) model to assist biomimetic design, namely BioDesign. We extract the biological strategies and extract dimensional information from AskNature as a part of the database. The linguistic expression model-BERT helps to search for biological strategy. Based on the coupled biological strategies analysis, the quantitative results of biomimetic strategies are given by BioDesign. Finally, we take the erosion wear-resistant design of the control valve core as an example to demonstrate the utilization based on the proposed BioDesign. The erosion wear experiment demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.
... A lack of expertise is often associated with an imbalanced design team where either the biology or the engineering (for example) are not well represented, sometimes missing entirely. Most often, it is the biological expertise that is absent (e.g., [4,11,14]), though it remains unclear the degree to which it should be represented. With larger design teams, more methods or processes, and the need to integrate research and development across several disciplines, resourcing becomes far greater than a project existing within a single domain. ...
Biomimetics must be taught to the next generation of designers in the interest of delivering solutions for current problems. Teaching biomimetics involves teachers and students from and in various disciplines at different stages of the educational system. There is no common understanding of how and what to teach in the different phases of the educational pipeline. This manuscript describes different perspectives, expectations, needs, and challenges of users from various backgrounds. It focuses on how biomimetics is taught at the various stages of education and career: from K-12 to higher education to continuing education. By constructing the biomimetics education pipeline, we find that some industry challenges are addressed and provide opportunities to transfer the lessons to application. We also identify existing gaps in the biomimetics education pipeline that could further advance industry application if a curriculum is developed.
