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Biomimetics from practical feedback to an interdisciplinary process

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Eliot Graeff at Asteria
Eliot Graeff
  • Asteria
Letard Anneline at École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
Letard Anneline
Kalina Raskin at CEEBIOS
Kalina Raskin
  • CEEBIOS
Nicolas Maranzana at École nationale supérieure d'arts et métiers
Nicolas Maranzana
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Abstract and Figures

Biomimetics has been a subject of increasing interest but, where it has proven its scientific relevance and innovative potential from a theoretical standpoint, it remains rarely used in practice. Facing this lack of implementation, our work aimed at asking practitioners for their help to better understand the remaining impediments preventing biomimetics’ blooming. Thus, practitioners’ feedback and experts’ opinion on risks, adequacy and weaknesses of the current biomimetic practices were gathered and structured to present an extensive descriptive phase on biomimetic processes. Key levers for improvements, such as the need for a better risk management, the need for biological expertise and the need for clear guidance during the process, were then identified. Based on these insights various methodological contributions are prescribed. Among these inputs, the duration of the various steps of the biomimetic process was estimated through industrial projects’ feedback, semantics misunderstandings were tackled, and the integration of a new transdisciplinary profile combining an expertise in both design and biology is proposed. From these improvements, a new version of the unified problem-driven biomimetic process is proposed. A final descriptive phase performed through the evaluation of the new process by professionals underlined its relevancy along with the remaining research axes. Through the integration of a new profile matching the practitioners’ current needs and the adaptation of the process to their feedback, this article aims at proposing a biomimetic process fitting the reality of biomimetic practice in order to support its implementation.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
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Research in Engineering Design (2021) 32:349–375
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00163-021-00356-x
ORIGINAL PAPER
Biomimetics frompractical feedback toaninterdisciplinary process
EliotGrae1,2 · AnnelineLetard1,2· KalinaRaskin2· NicolasMaranzana1· AmézianeAoussat1
Received: 16 February 2020 / Revised: 26 October 2020 / Accepted: 5 January 2021 / Published online: 10 March 2021
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd. part of Springer Nature 2021
Abstract
Biomimetics has been a subject of increasing interest but, where it has proven its scientific relevance and innovative poten-
tial from a theoretical standpoint, it remains rarely used in practice. Facing this lack of implementation, our work aimed at
asking practitioners for their help to better understand the remaining impediments preventing biomimetics’ blooming. Thus,
practitioners’ feedback and experts’ opinion on risks, adequacy and weaknesses of the current biomimetic practices were
gathered and structured to present an extensive descriptive phase on biomimetic processes. Key levers for improvements,
such as the need for a better risk management, the need for biological expertise and the need for clear guidance during the
process, were then identified. Based on these insights various methodological contributions are prescribed. Among these
inputs, the duration of the various steps of the biomimetic process was estimated through industrial projects’ feedback, seman-
tics misunderstandings were tackled, and the integration of a new transdisciplinary profile combining an expertise in both
design and biology is proposed. From these improvements, a new version of the unified problem-driven biomimetic process
is proposed. A final descriptive phase performed through the evaluation of the new process by professionals underlined its
relevancy along with the remaining research axes. Through the integration of a new profile matching the practitioners’ cur-
rent needs and the adaptation of the process to their feedback, this article aims at proposing a biomimetic process fitting the
reality of biomimetic practice in order to support its implementation.
Keywords Biomimetics· BID· Multidisciplinary team· Design process· Practical feedback· Risk evaluation
1 Introduction
Biomimetics is defined as “the interdisciplinary cooperation
of biology and technology or other fields of innovation with
the goal of solving practical problems through the function
analysis of biological systems, their abstraction into mod-
els and the transfer into and application of these models to
the solution” (ISO/TC266 2015). The innovative potential
of this approach has already been proven in many studies
(Ahmed-Kristensen etal. 2014; Keshwani etal. 2017) and
would not be tackled in this article. Instead, we will focus
on the methodological framework surrounding the use of
biomimetics as a technical problem-solving approach,
referred to as the technical-pull approach (ISO/TC266 2015).
Few argue against biomimetics, but its implementation and
practice are still highly limited. After the overwhelming
awareness of its potential, industrials soon faced a major
question: how to use biomimetics as a systematic innova-
tive strategy? Using nature as a source of inspiration for
analogical reasoning appears economically and technologi-
cally promising, not to mention the potential opportunities
it can offer from a sustainable point of view (Gamage and
Hyde 2012; Helfman Cohen and Reich 2016; Lenau etal.
2020) through biomimicry (ISO/TC266 2015). However, it
also involves great challenges. From the inherent difficulty
of multidisciplinary work, to the practical difficulties of
manipulating biological data, to the definition of key actors
in biomimetic teams, those large questions encompass a
range of issues that will be pointed out in this article. Facing
the gap that has emerged between research and practice in
biomimetic, this article tackles the following research ques-
tion: How can we adapt the current theoretical framework
designed and used by scientific researcher to a theoretical
* Eliot Graeff
eliot.graeff@ceebios.com
1 Product Design andInnovation Lab, LCPI, Arts Et Metiers
Institute ofTechnology, HESAM University, 151 boulevard
de l’Hôpital, 75013Paris, France
2 Centre D’Études Et D’Expertises en Biomimétisme de Senlis
(CEEBIOS), 62 rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, 60300Senlis,
France
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Moreover, biomimetic design and the process of investigating biological models is associated with great uncertainty as research does not always pan out to be applicable to technology. While this is true for most fields of research, the lack of systematic approaches, strategies and guidelines highlights this uncertainty further (Graeff et al., 2021). Even when biological models are sufficiently understood, their complexity often exceeds available technical capabilities and thus need to be scaled back during the implementation phase. ...
... Moreover, tools and databases focusing on biological systems alone oftentimes neglect their extended use and function throughout the environment and their role among species, which can reduce comprehensibility of concepts drastically and cause loss of information. Hence, while many of these databases support biomimetic design, they can lead to misinterpretations and transfer failures, inevitably resulting in the abandonment of the entire approach (Graeff et al., 2021). Another problem for non-biology experts is how to find appropriate models to investigate regarding their suitability to technical challenges. ...
... In addition, concepts are often found to be too complex to compare them with anything known to the opposite party, thereby prohibiting the propagation of a detailed understanding of principles and systems required to transfer them into a working technical design (Yen et al., 2014). Therefore, to achieve the most effective biomimetic design approach, companies often prefer to have an interdisciplinary team of biologists, chemists, engineers, technicians and scientists working closely together to close the existing gaps and enable a more efficient and successful design process (Graeff et al., 2021). Still, transition gaps between the idea, its implementation and the creation of a profitable product persist (Sharma and Sarkar, 2019). ...
Biomimetics for innovative and future-oriented space applications - A review
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Nature benefits from a progressive evolution over millions of years, always adapting and finding individual solutions for common problems. Hence, a pool of diverse and efficient solutions exists that may be transferable to technical systems. Biomimetics or bio-inspiration has been used as a design approach for decades, revolutionizing products and processes throughout various industries. Thus, multiple examples can also be found in the space sector, since many characteristics found in biological organisms are also essential for space systems like response-stimuli adaptability, robustness and lightweight construction, autonomy and intelligence, energy efficiency, and self-repair or healing capabilities. This review focuses on biomimetics within the field of aerospace engineering and summarizes existing bio-inspired concepts such as drilling tools (wood wasp ovipositor drilling), telescopes (lobster eye optics), or gasping features (gecko feet adhesion capabilities) that have already been conceptualized, partially tested, and applied within the space sector. A multitude of biological models are introduced and how they may be applicable within the space environment. In particular, this review highlights potential bio-inspired concepts for dealing with the harsh environment of space as well as challenges encountered during rocket launches, space system operations and space exploration activities. Moreover, it covers well-known and new biomimetic concepts for space debris removal and on-orbit operations such as space-based energy production, servicing and repair, and manufacture and assembly. Afterwards, a summary of the challenges associated with biomimetic design is presented to transparently show the constraints and obstacles of transferring biological concepts to technical systems, which need to be overcome to achieve a successful application of a biomimetic design approach. Overall, the review highlights the benefits of a biomimetic design approach and stresses the advantage of biomimetics for technological development as it oftentimes offers an efficient and functional solution that does not sacrifice a system’s reliability or robustness. Nevertheless, it also underlines the difficulties of the biomimetic design approach and offers some suggestions in how to approach this method.
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... The process adopted follows a systematic approach that begins by researching sustainable and effective case studies and performance, and then transferring them into bio-inspired design. It is important that this research is conducted in collaboration with a biologist in order to fully understand the behavior of living things, supporting with relevant scientific literature and databases (Graeff et al., 2021). Next, case studies are selected, studying their performance and how they fit into the design. ...
A Multidisciplinary Approach for Bio-inspired Design: Interactions between drawing, AI, and parametric design
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This paper presents innovative tools and methods for nature-inspired performance analysis, guiding the design of bio-inspired and sustainable products and structures through computational design. Understanding the language of nature through mathematics and geometry is essential for creating adaptable systems. Observing natural processes on a microscopic scale reveals principles that can be translated into functional designs. These microscopic images, analyzed with hand drawings and machine learning, feed computational models, optimizing the design and predicting the performance of bio-inspired structures. The results described in the paper point to the possibility of developing sustainable high-performance design, emphasizing the importance of a multidisciplinary approach that combines drawing, AI, and parametric modeling. This approach pushes the boundaries of human creativity and addresses the complexity of the real world, leading to innovative and efficient solutions that mimic and incorporate the fundamental principles of nature.
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... Biomimetics is a multidisciplinary field that combines biology, materials science, and engineering principles to develop innovative dental treatments and materials to focus on the tooth structure to achieve a more harmonious integration and enhance functionality (Graeff et al., 2021). Biomimetic approaches in clinical dentistry involve the application of principles and techniques that mimic the natural structures, functions, and properties of teeth and oral tissues (Paryani et al., 2023;Zafar et al., 2010). ...
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... Though the field of biomimicry is not new, systematic literature reviews on this field are new. One of the highly cited classification of biomimetic principles was by (Nagel et al., 2015(Nagel et al., , 2018, which has been frequently cited by scholars (Willocx et al., 2020;Graeff et al., 2021;Broeckhoven & du Plessis, 2022). The analogy categories for bio-inspired designs consists of seven categories (Form, Architecture, Surface, Material, Function, Process, and System) where each category is defined with an example from the nature (Nagel et al., 2018). ...
Is it Time to Consider Biomimetics for Sustainable Education? Lessons from the Nature for “Smarter” Learning Environments
Chapter
Full-text available
  • Mar 2024
Biomimicry, the practice of imitating nature to solve complex human problems, holds significant potential for sustainable education in the face of global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change impacts. Advocates called for the integration of smart educational technologies to reduce the carbon footprint associated with traditional educational practices, which can be through biomimicry, as it taps into nature’s smart strategies to tackle complex challenges in a sustainable manner. This study presents a systematic review of the literature on biomimetics in education, aiming to explore the implementation and effectiveness of biomimicry in educational settings. The findings reveal that biomimicry can expand educational opportunities by fostering the development of smart learning environments (SLEs). Six specific areas of biomimicry are identified as potential case studies for SLEs, namely: sustainable education through biomimicry pedagogy, systems thinking as a foundation for SLEs, process thinking for SLE operation, smart architecture for sustainable learning environments, the interplay of forms and functions in nature to support SLEs, and innovations in SLEs using surfaces and materials. This study provides lessons to help inspire and shape better futures of education through “smarter” designs of learning environments and experiences.
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... Above all, its value lies in its ability to display the semantic proximity between taxa, biological processes, habitats, and physical measurements within the scientific literature on bioinspiration. Bioinspire-Explore does not replace interaction with biologists: transdisciplinary collaboration is essential to understanding the principles that govern the living world [31] and for effective bioinspiration [32,33]. However, Bioinspire-Explore provides a means to begin biological exploration, individually or as a team, and to stimulate bioinspiration in all its forms (i.e., biomimicry, bioassistance, bioproduction, Nature Based Solutions, etc. . . ) [34]. ...
Bioinspire-Explore: Taxonomy-Driven Exploration of Biodiversity Data for Bioinspired Innovation
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
Successful bioinspired design depends on practitioners’ access to biological data in a relevant form. Although multiple open-access biodiversity databases exist, their presentation is often adapted to life scientists, rather than bioinspired designers. In this paper, we present a new tool, “Bioinspire-Explore”, for navigating biodiversity data in order to uncover biological systems of interest for a range of sectors. Bioinspire-Explore allows users to search for inspiring biological models via taxa (species, genera, etc.) as an entry point. It provides information on a taxon’s position in the “tree of life”, its distribution and climatic niche, as well as its appearance. Bioinspire-Explore also shows users connections in the bioinspiration literature between their taxon of interest and associated biological processes, habitats, and physical measurements by way of their semantic proximity. We believe Bioinspire-Explore has the potential to become an indispensable resource for both biologists and bioinspired designers in different fields.
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... 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). ...
Convergent Evolution: Theory and Practice for Bioinspiration
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  • Feb 2023
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.
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Exploring the Potential of ChatGPT for Finding Engineering Biomimetic Solutions: A Theoretical Framework and Practical Insights
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Biomimicry is an interdisciplinary field that aims to provide sustainable solutions to technical issues. However, learners often encounter challenges in the application of biomimicry due to the multidisciplinary requisites and abstract thinking skills required. Although multiple hands-on activities and teaching strategies have been explored, significant obstacles remain. Recently, generative artificial intelligent tools have become readily accessible to the general public, among which is ChatGPT. ChatGPT is known for generating detailed responses to user inquiries and has demonstrated efficacy in enhancing learning, although its specific application to biomimicry education has yet to be explored. To bridge this knowledge gap, this study seeks to evaluate the capabilities of ChatGPT in helping its users identify biomimetic solutions. It is found that the effectiveness of ChatGPT in biomimicry education significantly depends on the user’s ability to formulate knowledgeable and effective prompts. Although, a novice user can use ChatGPT to get a fundamental overview of the technical challenge and explore potential sources of bioinspiration. The study proposes a theoretical framework to guide users in the effective use of ChatGPT for biomimicry education and application. In addition, users are cautioned against ChatGPT responses and advised to employ it as a tool to complement their own knowledge gaps. The results from this study can offer insights for teachers and self-directed learners on the effective use of prompts in ChatGPT for biomimicry education. Future investigations will seek to validate this framework by evaluating users’ experiences and feedback on its application in creating prototypes.
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Eco-Innovation Biomimétique : développement d’un outil pour l’optimisation du processus de conception de produits durables bio-inspirés / Biomimetic Eco-Innovation: development of a tool for optimizing the design process of bio-inspired sustainable products
Research Proposal
Full-text available
  • Apr 2023
ABSTRACT - The field of biomimicry is developing swiftly in Europe and France, given the remarkable opportunities for research and innovation, including the possibilities of developing projects that may provide solutions for the challenges of climate transition and ecological preservation. However, academic and scientific work that associates the themes of creative tools, biomimicry, and sustainability requirements for product design and development is still scarce. These shortcomings can be recognized when assessing the performance of such projects and their adherence to sustainability principles and indicators. Therefore, studying the application of biomimetic tools to generate sustainable products is an approach that deserves further investigation. Developing new biomimetic tools leading to sustainable solutions can contribute to the adaptation of design and production systems and, ultimately, of society itself. Considering the theoretical foundations of biomimetic design, this project is guided by the following research questions: 1) How to systematize biomimetic principles and sustainability requirements to achieve knowledge transfer for the product design and development processes? 2) What design processes based on biomimetic creative tools can enhance the positive effects of bioinspiration on sustainable innovation? 3) How may the domain of design treat bioinspired knowledge ethically? 4) How to avoid inappropriate applications of bio-inspiration? The main objective of this doctoral project consists of: developing a tool – based on biomimetic principles, associating them with sustainability requirements – to guide the design of eco-innovation products. The following specific objectives have been established: a) carry out a critical review of studies on biomimicry, biomimetics, design, and sustainability aimed at product creation processes; b) study the tools and models of product creation adopted in the fields of biomimicry, biomimetics, design, and sustainability, verifying their advantages and limitations; c) identify sustainability principles, goals and/or indicators for bio-inspired design applications; d) assess criteria and certification standards for products of sustainable design from a biomimetic perspective; e) comprehend, describe and analyze the perception of experts in biomimicry, biomimetics, and sustainability to identify the commonly adopted practices and creative possibilities; f) develop and test a biomimetic tool for sustainable design; and g) submit the tool created for analysis by specialists. A mixed approach is proposed with quantitative and qualitative actions focusing on the delimitation of events, processes, and tools to explore their characteristics. With this in mind, action research will be conducted, to identify the needs for modifications and improvements in the selected field of investigation, transformation initiatives will be implemented to meet the defined objectives, and, simultaneously, knowledge about such initiatives will be produced. Thus, it is planned to design a creative tool that will be developed and tested in partnership with specialists from the scientific community and industry, considering a real case of application of the biomimetic instrument for the development of innovations. To achieve these goals, the following procedures are proposed: systematic review of the literature; study of tool-based methods to increase the impact of bio-inspiration on sustainable innovation; application of questionnaires and conducting interviews with researchers, practitioners, and specialists in biomimicry, biomimetics, design, and sustainability (in France and abroad); development and testing the biomimetic tool for sustainable design. // RÉSUMÉ EN FRANÇAIS - Le biomimétisme se développe en Europe et en France, compte tenu des opportunités de recherche et d'innovation, y compris des possibilités de développer des projets qui répondent aux enjeux de transition climatique et de préservation écologique. Cependant, il demeure une insuffisance des travaux académiques et scientifiques qui associent spécifiquement les thèmes des outils de conception, du biomimétisme et des exigences de durabilité pour le développement de produits. Par conséquent, étudier l'application d'outils biomimétiques pour générer produits durables est une approche qui mérite d'être approfondie. En plus, développer des nouveaux outils biomimétiques conduisant à l'élaboration des solutions durables, peut contribuer à l'adaptation des systèmes de production et de la société. Considérant les fondements théoriques de la conception biomimétique, ce projet est guidé par les questions suivantes : 1) Comment systématiser les principes biomimétiques et les exigences de durabilité pour réaliser le transfert de connaissances destiné au processus de développement de produits? 2) Quels processus de conception basés sur des outils créatifs biomimétiques peuvent renforcer l'impact de la bio-inspiration sur l'innovation durable? 3) Comment le domaine de la conception peut-il traiter éthiquement la bio-inspiration? 4) Comment éviter les applications inappropriées de la bio-inspiration? L'objet d'étude de ce projet doctoral consiste en des outils biomimétiques applicables dans le domaine de la conception durable. Ainsi, l'objectif principal est de développer un outil – basé sur des principes biomimétiques, en les associant à des principes et exigences de durabilité – pour orienter l'élaboration de produits d'éco-innovation. Comme objectifs spécifiques peuvent être établis : a) réaliser une revue critique des études sur le biomimétisme, le design et la conception durable visant les processus de création de produits ; b) étudier les outils et les modèles de développement de produits adoptés aux domaines du biomimétisme, du design et de la durabilité, en vérifiant leurs avantages et leurs limites ; c) identifier les principes, objectifs et/ou indicateurs de durabilité pour les applications de conception bio-inspirée ; d) évaluer des critères et des normes de certification des produits de conception durable dans une perspective biomimétique ; e) connaître, décrire et analyser la perception des experts en biomimétisme et durabilité pour identifier les pratiques adoptées et les possibilités créatives ; f) développer et tester un outil biomimétique pour des projets de conception durable ; et g) soumettre l'outil créé à l'analyse de spécialistes du biomimétisme et de la durabilité. Une approche mixte est proposée avec des actions quantitatives et qualitatives dans lesquelles l'accent sera mis sur la délimitation des événements, des processus et des outils, afin d'explorer leurs caractéristiques. Dans cette optique, une recherche-action sera menée, où les besoins de changement dans le domaine de l'investigation seront identifiés, des initiatives de transformation seront mises en œuvre pour atteindre les objectifs fixés et, en même temps, des connaissances seront produites sur les démarches effectuées. Ainsi, il est prévu de concevoir un outil créatif qui sera élaboré et testé en partenariat avec des experts de la communauté scientifique et de l'industrie, en considérant un cas réel d'application de l'instrument biomimétique pour le développement d'innovations. Pour atteindre ces buts, les procédures d'étude suivantes sont proposées : revue systématique de la littérature ; étude des méthodes basées sur des outils pour accroître l'impact de la bio-inspiration sur l'innovation durable ; application de questionnaires et réalisation d'entretiens avec des chercheurs, praticiens et spécialistes en biomimétisme, conception et durabilité (en France et à l'étranger) ; élaboration et test de l'outil biomimétique pour la conception durable.
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Biology for Biomimetics I: function as an interdisciplinary bridge in bio-inspired design
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In bio-inspired design, the concept of “function” allows engineers to move between biological models and human applications. Abstracting a problem to general functions allows designers to look to traits that perform analogous functions in biological organisms. However, the idea of function can mean different things across fields, presenting challenges for interdisciplinary research. Here we review core ideas in biology that relate to the concept of “function,” including adaptation, tradeoffs, and fitness, as a companion to bio-inspired design approaches. We align these ideas with a top-down approach in biomimetics, where engineers start with a problem of interest and look to biology for ideas. We review how one can explore a range of biological analogies for a given function by considering function across different parts of an organism’s life, such as acquiring nutrients or avoiding disease. Engineers may also draw inspiration from biological traits or systems that exhibit a particular function, but did not necessarily evolve to do so. Such an evolutionary perspective is important to how biodesigners search biological space for ideas. A consideration of the evolution of trait function can also clarify potential trade-offs and biological models that may be more promising for an application. This core set of concepts from evolutionary and organismal biology can aid engineers and designers in their search for biological inspiration.
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BERT-based coupling evaluation of biological strategies in bio-inspired design
Article
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  • EXPERT SYST APPL
Searching for suitable biological strategies in bio-inspired design (BID) is the first problem that designers need to solve. Based on the biological strategy database of the AskNature, a natural language processing (NLP) method is applied to search for keywords related to design topics, and a multi-criteria coupled evaluation method is proposed for biological strategy. This paper firstly establishes the mapping relationship between BID topic and biological strategies through a NLP method-BERT. Then a coupled evaluation method is established based on the ordinal relation analysis and the deviation maximization method, highlighting the differences between biological strategies while considering the designer's preference. Finally, cases show the biological strategy coupling evaluation process. The results indicate that the proposed method is effective and efficient in biological strategy evaluation, which assists BID well.
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How Does Biologically Inspired Design Cope with Multi-Functionality?
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As catalysts for product innovation and product development, different approaches for biologically inspired design (BID) are exciting options. However, while general BID theory require a focus on single functions, real world products are characterized by performing multiple functions. The development of an anterior eye-chamber model is used to showcase the issue. In a systematic literature review (SLR), state-of-the-art methodologies, methods and tools BID practice are discovered and the current state of multi-functionality in BID are assessed. The SLR revealed 18 contributions with 8 BID methodologies and 12 stage-specific BID tools (of which 50% addressed the solution search phase) in addition to 5 papers addressing multi-functionality in BID. At present multi-functionality in BID is only treated in a limited set of papers. While designers interested in BID are advised to discover multi-functional analogies, the present approach to handling multi-functional problems in BID suggest functional decomposition and multiple BID efforts. Therefore, the development of design support for handling multi-functional problems, including tools for problem analysis are needed.
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Engineers’ and Biologists’ Roles during Biomimetic Design Processes, Towards a Methodological Symbiosis
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Aug 2019
The strength of biomimetics comes from its ability to draw from life mechanisms and strategies to design innovative solutions. In spite of recent methodological progresses, more specifically on tools and processes, biomimetics' implementation still faces strong difficulties. Among other things, design teams have a hard time finding and selecting relevant biological strategies. Facing these challenges, we consider an alternative, yet well recognized, approach: the integration of profiles having a training in natural science within biomimetic design teams. As biologists aren't used to work in design teams, there is a need for a process actually guiding their practice in biomimetics and determining the way they will interact with the “traditional” design team. After studying the literature and asking for experts' opinion on the matter, we introduced a biomimetic design process considering this new profile as an integral part of biomimetic design teams. With the final goal of making biomimetics implementable, this proposed theoretical process is currently tested in both a student and an industrial project in order to optimize our methodological contribution with practical feedbacks.
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Biomimetics, where are the biologists?
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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 commonalities have led designers to look to living beings for inspiration. This innovation strategy, referred to as biomimetics, isn’t a new approach but its methodological aspects are still under development. This article deals with biologists’ contribution throughout the biomimetic design process. After introducing the context and the experimental protocol, we investigated the impact of possessing a background in biology during the practice of biomimetics and compared our findings with experts’ opinion. The main idea of this article is to show that to forego the integration of biologists is highly restrictive and may be one of the reasons explaining the difficulties of implementing biomimetics in the industrial context. Hence, this article argues for a new methodological framework taking into account biologists, allowing biomimetic teams to become truly interdisciplinary.
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The Characterization of Biological Organization, Abstraction, and Novelty in Biomimetic Design
Article
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Through billions of years of evolution, a latent record of successful and failed design practices has developed in nature. The endeavors to exploit this record have resulted in numerous successful products in various fields of engineering, including, but not limited to, networking, propulsion, surface engineering, and robotics. In this work, a study of existing biomimetic designs has been carried out by categorizing the designs according to the biological organizational level, the abstraction level, and a novelty measure. The criterion of novelty has been used as a partial measure of the quality of bio-inspired and biomimetic designs already introduced, or ready to be introduced to the market. Through this review and categorization, we recognize patterns in existing biomimetic and bio-inspired products by analyzing their cross-categorical distribution. Using the distribution, we identify the categories which yield novel bio-inspired designs. We also examine the distribution to identify less explored areas of bio-inspired design. Additionally, this study is a step forward in aiding the practitioners of biomimetics in identifying the categories which yield the highest novelty products in their area of interest.
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Establishing Analogy Categories for Bio-Inspired Design
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Full-text available
  • Nov 2018
Biological systems have evolved over billions of years and cope with changing conditions through the adaptation of morphology, physiology, or behavior. Learning from these adaptations can inspire engineering innovation. Several bio-inspired design tools and methods prescribe the use of analogies, but lack details for the identification and application of promising analogies. Further, inexperienced designers tend to have a more difficult time recognizing or creating analogies from biological systems. This paper reviews biomimicry literature to establish analogy categories as a tool for knowledge transfer between biology and engineering to aid bio-inspired design that addresses the common issues. Two studies were performed with the analogy categories. A study of commercialized products verifies the set of categories, while a controlled design study demonstrates the utility of the categories. The results of both studies offer valuable information and insights into the complexity of analogical reasoning and transfer, as well as what leads to biological inspiration versus imitation. The influence on bio-inspired design pedagogy is also discussed. The breadth of the analogy categories is sufficient to capture the knowledge transferred from biology to engineering for bio-inspired design. The analogy categories are a design method independent tool and are applicable for professional product design, research, and teaching purposes.
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Conception biomimétique : Quels acteurs pour quelles attentes ?
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Jul 2018
Alors que l'innovation par la biomimétique prend son essor au sein de la communauté scientifique et dans le monde industriel, la question de la place des différents acteurs, en particulier celle des biologistes et de leurs rôles, dans ce type de processus reste entière. A travers, la caractérisation des attentes des différents acteurs, cette étude vise à apporter une première réponse à cette question fondamentale. Nous présentons ainsi nos premiers résultats sur les profils de biologistes attendus par les équipes de conception lors du processus biomimétique. Ces travaux constitueront par la suite notre base de réflexion lors de la conception de solutions prescriptives quant à l'intégration de ces profils originaux au sein des équipes classiques de conception biomimétiques.
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The mechanisms of analogical learning
Chapter
  • Jul 1989
Similarity and analogy are fundamental in human cognition. They are crucial for recognition and classification, and have been associated with scientific discovery and creativity. Successful learning is generally less dependent on the memorization of isolated facts and abstract rules than it is on the ability to identify relevant bodies of knowledge already stored as the starting point for new learning. Similarity and analogy play an important role in this process - a role that in recent years has received much attention from cognitive scientists. Any adequate understanding of similarity and analogy requires the integration of theory and data from diverse domains. This interdisciplinary volume explores current developments in research and theory from psychological, computational, and educational perspectives, and considers their implications for learning and instruction. Well-known cognitive scientists examine the psychological processes involved in reasoning by similarity and analogy, the computational problems encountered in simulating analogical processing in problem solving, and the conditions promoting the application of analogical reasoning in everyday situations.
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Design research – Its 50-year transformation
Article
  • Nov 2019
  • DESIGN STUD
Over the past half century, how we conceive of design research has changed significantly, as indeed have the boundaries of influence of the design profession. This paper takes an entirely personal perspective of the author and will discuss the change in the nature of design research through the lens of a career in design education and, especially, in the author's endeavours to develop design research as a respected discipline working with and alongside, science, social sciences and the arts and humanities. It will look at the social, economic and political drivers that have influenced design research in the UK but also globally, and at where this has taken design, in terms of research both within and beyond the design profession.
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Growing the practice of biomimicry: opportunities for mission-based organisations based on a global survey of practitioners
Article
  • Jun 2019
Biomimicry is a growing field within design communities, attracting practitioners and researchers from a wide range of domains. In the USA, The Biomimicry Institute, The Biomimicry Center and Biomimicry 3.8 share a common mission of supporting the growth of the practice of biomimicry, through commercial consulting, professional training and public education. Research to date has highlighted potential weaknesses and challenges to its growth as a practice. By gaining insights into the current state and funding of completed and on-going biomimicry projects we aim to provide more intelligence and strategic information for organisations with the mission of supporting the practice of biomimicry. We present the results of an online survey of 270 biomimicry practitioners from 44 countries and describe distribution trends, the level of practice support, and difficulties they are currently experiencing. We conclude with guiding recommendations for supporting the impact and growth of the practice of biomimicry.
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