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Evaluation methods of biomimetic development: how can we compare and select topics?
Abstract
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.
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The term "nature-inspired" is associated with a sequence of efforts to understand, synthesize and imitate any natural object or phenomenon either in a tangible or intangible form, which allows us to obtain improved insights into nature. Such inspirations can come through materials, processes, or designs that we see around us. Materials, as opposed to processes and designs found in nature, are tangible and can readily be used without engineering efforts. One such example is that of an aquaporin that is used to filter water. The scope of this work in nature-inspired materials is to define, clarify, and consolidate our current understanding by reviewing examples from the laboratory to industrial scale to highlight emerging opportunities. A careful analysis of "nature-inspired materials" shows that they possess specific functionality that relies on our ability to harness particular electrical, mechanical, biological, chemical, sustainable, or combined gains.
Biomimetics is a known innovation paradigm of the twenty‐first century with significant impact on science, society, economy, and challenges of sustainability. As such it can be understood as a mindset for creative thinking and as a methodology or technique for effective knowledge transfer between disciplines, mainly biology and technology. As biomimetics is relevant to practitioners in various fields of application, understanding the teaching and training of biomimetics for different audiences is important. With this article we aim to give a holistic view of teaching and training practices and opportunities. First, we offer a set of learning objectives based on an analysis of various courses worldwide and we give recommendations for the design of future curricula. Second, based on an audience analysis and interviews, we developed a set of personas of the users of biomimetics, and as such we offer a deeper understanding of their needs for the design of the process, including tools and methods.
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Biomimetic practice requires a diverse set of knowledge from both biology, and engineering. Several researchers have been supporting the integration of biologists within biomimetic design teams in order to meet those biological requirements and improve the effectiveness of biomimetic processes. However, interdisciplinarity practices create well-known communication challenges. Based on functional representations (like SAPPhIRE or FBS), several approaches to model biological information have been investigated in the literature. Nonetheless, actual communication processes within interdisciplinary biomimetic design teams are yet to be studied. Following this research axis, this publication focuses on communication noises and wonders if a shared framework of reference can be defined to improve communication between biologists and engineers? Through the comparison of processes and graphic representations between biology and engineering design, a set of guidelines is defined to structure a shared framework of reference. Within this framework, a new tool referred to as LINKAGE, is then proposed to assist interdisciplinary communication during the biomimetic process.
In recent years, cold chain logistics, especially for agricultural products has been greatly developed. It aims to keep agricultural product fresh before arrive to the designated locations. In this paper, the definition and current situation of cold chain logistics are introduced first. Then a novel approach for path distribution of cold chain is proposed according to time-consumption. After that, we introduce the Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) method and the way to get realistic deliver time. At last, we put forward a method for distribution path optimization based on delivery time and ACO. Experiments show that the proposed method can achieve the optimal solution effectively.
Through their diet, animals can obtain substances essential for imparting special characteristics, such as toxins in monarch butterflies and luminescent substances in jellyfishes. These substances are typically small molecules because they are less likely to be digested and may be hard for the consumer to biosynthesize. Here, we report that Parapriacanthus ransonneti , a bioluminescent fish, obtains not only its luciferin but also its luciferase enzyme from bioluminescent ostracod prey. The enzyme purified from the fish’s light organs was identical to the luciferase of Cypridina noctiluca , a bioluminescent ostracod that they feed upon. Experiments where fish were fed with a related ostracod, Vargula hilgendorfii , demonstrated the specific uptake of the luciferase to the fish’s light organs. This “kleptoprotein” system allows an organism to use novel functional proteins that are not encoded in its genome and provides an evolutionary alternative to DNA-based molecular evolution.
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.
Biomimetics, as the transfer of strategies from biology to technology, is an emerging research area and has led to significant concepts over the past decades. The development of such concepts is described by the process of biomimetics, encompassing several steps. In Practice, beneficiaries of the process face challenges. Therefore, to overcome challenges and to facilitate the steps, tools have been developed in various areas, such as engineering, computing and design. However, these tools are not widely used yet. This paper presents an overview and a classification study of more than 40 tools with qualitative criteria. The criteria included, for example, the year of development, the accessibility of tools, the facilitated steps of the process or their contribution to sustainability. The classification shows that certain steps of the process and their challenges are well addressed by the tools, while other steps are not. The presented results contribute to the proposal of an improvement of the state of the art, and they build the foundation for future theoretical and practical analyses. These findings could contribute to increasing the implementation of biomimetics in various disciplines in the long term.
Biomimetics, with diverse origins, has generated a ‘biomimetic promise’ of sustainable design solutions. This promise posits that biological systems are inherently sustainable and emulating these time-tested patterns will result in optimal sustainability characteristics. However, this has rarely been empirically explored and there is little understanding of how biomimetic practitioners are assessing sustainability impacts. This paper examines connections between biomimetic innovation and sustainability theory and investigates how practitioners are approaching sustainability issues. It includes (a) a review of concepts connecting sustainability and biomimetic innovation, highlighting epistemological disparities among disciplines, and (b) an exploratory survey examining practitioners’ use and views of biomimetics for sustainability-oriented innovation. Four findings are that (a) practitioners use a variety of sustainability frameworks with no established system of accountability; (b) there is a disconnection between biomimetics and sustainability agendas at multiple levels; (c) biomimetics is creating new narratives of sustainability; and (d) epistemological variations in biomimetics research and practice contribute to the variety of conceptions of sustainability and need to be considered as an aspect of the biomimetic promise. In conclusion, biomimetics has an important role to play in the evolving conceptualisation of sustainability and measures of success needed to integrate science-based targets and the interests of diverse stakeholders.
The engineer of 2020 is expected to not only offer technical ingenuity but also adapt to a continuously evolving environment while being able to operate outside the narrow limits of one discipline and be ethically grounded in solving the complex problems of the future. To address the competencies of the future engineer, undergraduate education must train students to not only solve engineering challenges that transcend disciplinary boundaries but also communicate, transfer knowledge and collaborate across technical and non-technical boundaries. One approach to training engineers in these competencies is teaching biomimicry or bioinspired design in an engineering curriculum, which offers relevance to professional practice as well as an effective hook to frame complex, cross- disciplinary problems. This research aims to address the need for undergraduate student training in multidisciplinary design innovation through the creation of instructional resources grounded in the concept–knowledge theory that scaffolds discovery and knowledge transfer processes such that natural designs can be used to inspire engineering solutions. Qualitative content analysis of second-year engineering student reflection statements shows that the instructional resources resulted in significant learning and engagement.
The potential of bio-inspired design has been illustrated many times over human history. Nevertheless its process is complex, as biologists and engineers have to work together without necessarily sharing the same vision or language. Methods and tools have therefore been developed in order to support these kind of approaches. Following the outlined problem-driven biomimetic process, the article seeks to provide a global view of the existing biomimetic toolset. To do so, tools are classified according to their methodological purpose. For each identified type of tools an evaluation chart has been generated. By its experiment, the article addresses more specifically the assessment of tools originating from the Design Spirals methodology. The article provides thereby an identification of advantages, high accessibility and convenience, and limitations, need to be coupled with other tools, of the assessed tools. This identification leads to the proposal of an axis of research to develop new biomimetics tools.
We present the BioM Innovation Database, the first of its kind containing detailed information about global biomimetic activity. We present a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the database to address the following questions: (1) Are products, which are identified as being the result of biologically inspired design (BID), actually BID and to what extent do they use biomimicry terminology in their descriptions by the designers? (2) To what extent do BID products mimic the forms, processes and interactions of biological systems? (3) To what extent do BID products exploit the scale and range of biological systems? (4) What patterns of design practice can we learn from successful BID practitioners?.
Here we introduce the Analytic Hierarchy Process as a method of measurement with ratio scales and illustrate it with two examples. We then give the axioms and some of the central theoretical underpinnings of the theory. Finally, we discuss some of the ideas relating to this process and its ramifications. In this paper we give special emphasis to departure from consistency and its measurement and to the use of absolute and relative measurement, providing examples and justification for rank preservation and reversal in relative measurement.
The skin of fast-swimming sharks exhibits riblet structures aligned in the direction of flow that are known to reduce skin friction drag in the turbulent-flow regime. Structures have been fabricated for study and application that replicate and improve upon the natural shape of the shark-skin riblets, providing a maximum drag reduction of nearly 10 per cent. Mechanisms of fluid drag in turbulent flow and riblet-drag reduction theories from experiment and simulation are discussed. A review of riblet-performance studies is given, and optimal riblet geometries are defined. A survey of studies experimenting with riblet-topped shark-scale replicas is also given. A method for selecting optimal riblet dimensions based on fluid-flow characteristics is detailed, and current manufacturing techniques are outlined. Due to the presence of small amounts of mucus on the skin of a shark, it is expected that the localized application of hydrophobic materials will alter the flow field around the riblets in some way beneficial to the goals of increased drag reduction.
From bacteria to fish, a remarkable variety of marine life depends on bioluminescence (the chemical generation of light) for finding food, attracting mates, and evading predators. Disparate biochemical systems and diverse phylogenetic distribution patterns of light-emitting organisms highlight the ecological benefits of bioluminescence, with biochemical and genetic analyses providing new insights into the mechanisms of its evolution. The origins and functions of some bioluminescent systems, however, remain obscure. Here, I review recent advances in understanding bioluminescence in the ocean and highlight future research efforts that will unite molecular details with ecological and evolutionary relationships.
Biomimetics, a name coined by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s for the transfer of ideas and analogues from biology to technology, has produced some significant and successful devices and concepts in the past 50 years, but is still empirical. We show that TRIZ, the Russian system of problem solving, can be adapted to illuminate and manipulate this process of transfer. Analysis using TRIZ shows that there is only 12% similarity between biology and technology in the principles which solutions to problems illustrate, and while technology solves problems largely by manipulating usage of energy, biology uses information and structure, two factors largely ignored by technology.
Trickling water on nearly vertical rocky substrates is a common feature of mountainous regions of Japan. The thin water film is inhabited by discoid colonies of the cyanobacteria Nostoc. This species resembles the North American Nostoc parmelioides Kützing, which forms ear-like colonies in stream beds and is inhabited by symbiotic chironomid larvae. The Nostoc colony in Japan was inhabited by a chironomid larva inside a ring-shaped burrow in the colony. Morphological analyses suggested that these individuals belong to a new species closely related to Cricotopus spp. symbiotic with Nostoc parmelioides. Here, we described the chironomid species Cricotopus cataractaenostocicola sp. nov. The species was distinguished from other congeneric species mainly by the morphology of male hypopygia. It has an anal point and long setae on the outside of the gonocoxite, and does not have setae near the apex of the inner lobe in the gonocoxite. Almost all the Nostoc colonies contained one large larva or pupa. The outer layer of the chironomid-symbiotic Nostoc colony had an elastic hardness. The 3D computer tomography (3DCT) scan showed a connected network of internal passages that are sufficiently wide to be traversed by the larvae, suggesting that cavities are present for the larvae to pass through. Future studies should investigate the formation of cavities and their purpose. As pioneers in the observation of living organisms using 3DCT, we provided the CT data to the Natural History Museum in Vienna.
Learning from living organisms has emerged from a mainly curiosity‐driven examination, where helpful functions of biological structures have been copied, into systematic biomimetic approaches that transfer a targeted function and its underlying principles from the biological model to a technical product. Plant biomimetics is based on functional morphology, which combines the knowledge gained from the morphology, anatomy and mechanics of plants and makes a statement about their form‐structure‐function relationship. Since the functional morphology of plants has become key to biomimetic applications, we present its central role in deciphering the functional principles that can be applied to engineering solutions. We consider that the future of biomimetics will include bioinspired developments that will contribute to better sustainability than that achieved by conventional products.
Nature mimicry rather, biomimicry is one such field being considered for the backbone of the most astounding inventions in recent science and technology. Biomimicry combined with nano-technology developed many sustainable solutions to satisfy problems existing in daily life. In this article, we also explore the individual concepts of biomimicry and nano-technology and then the combination of the both. The current review mainly focusses of nano innovations inspired by lotus leaf, gecko feet, butterfly wings, shark skin and peacock spider. We then look at the biological structures (more in nano-dimensions) from the entrenched interference patterns found on the butterfly wings inspiring in the development of display technologies to the self-cleaning properties of lotus that has resulted in the synthesis of nano materials having self-cleaning properties. In addition, insects like spiders which have inspired the most important inventions like optical devices, sensors, are also investigated. The challenges faced while implementing the biomimetic approach into technology are explained. We have also tried to shed light on the solutions which can tackle these challenges and issues. Some of the very important reasons why this approach can be a boon to humanity namely helping in the control of climate change, environmental degradation and pollution by offering sustainable solutions are also elucidated.
Superhydrophobic materials with micro/nanotextured surface have attracted tremendous attention owing to their potential applications such as self-cleaning, antifouling, anti-icing, and corrosion prevention. Such a micro/nanotextured surface is a key for high water repellency. However, such a texture is fragile and readily damaged when the material is deformed, scratched, or sliced off. Thus, it is challenging to develop superhydrophobic materials that can sustain high water repellency after experiencing such a mechanical deformation and damage. Here we report abrasion/scratching/slicing/droplet impacting/bending/twisting-tolerant superhydrophobic flexible materials with porcupinefish-like structure by using a composite of micrometer-scale tetrapod-shaped ZnO and poly(dimethylsiloxane). Owing to the geometry of the tetrapod and elasticity of poly(dimethylsiloxane), the composite material exhibits stable water repellency after 1000 abrasion and 1000 bending cycles, or even after their surfaces were sliced off many times. The material maintains superhydrophobicity even under a mechanically deformed state such as bending and twisting. The materials can be painted on a variety of substrates and molded into desired shapes and used in a myriad of applications that require superhydrophobicity.
Biomechanists and biologists alike have yet to fully understand the complex morphology and function of shark denticles, morphologically intricate tooth-like structures embedded into the skin of sharks. Denticles vary in many ways (such as size and shape) depending on shark species, and studies on denticle hydrodynamics have suggested that they may aid in drag reduction as well as increase both lift and thrust. Although previous studies have analyzed the effect of different denticle patterns on hydrodynamic performance, no previous work has focused on the effects of denticle size. Here, we report on the hydrodynamic properties of 3D printed shark skin foils with rigid denticles embedded into a flexible substrate. The patterning of these denticles was based on previously reported designs exhibiting the greatest hydrodynamic performance (which also most closely mimics real shark skin). The size of the denticles and the speed of the flow were varied, and the foils were evaluated under both static and dynamic conditions. Static tests showed drag reduction compared to a smooth control foil (without denticles) for the smallest denticle size, while medium and large denticles exhibited increased drag. Under dynamic testing conditions, the smallest denticles increased the self-propelled swimming speed, while the largest denticles reduced swimming performance. At higher speeds, the smallest denticles were also able to reduce power consumption compared to the control, demonstrating that their hydrodynamic effect depends on both denticle size and swimming speed. Our results thus provide new insights into the role of denticle size in shark swimming hydrodynamics across a range of locomotory modes, while simultaneously providing new design guidelines for the production of high performance low drag surface coatings for aquatic and aerospace applications.
The creativity found in nature is seemingly boundless. Designs and strategies that species have developed for survival emerged through aeons of evolution and have therefore been refined for high functionality within the given context. These survival strategies employed by single organisms and applied to whole ecosystems can be considered design ingenuity and are worth investigating as they represent an extensive pool of potential solutions to human problems. Many viable biologically inspired designs (BIDs) have already been emulated from nature and biomimicry offers one of the possible processes for mimicking nature’s ingenuity and distinguishes itself from other bioinspired forms of innovation in two ways: it has a firm sustainability mandate that is embedded directly in the design process and it is applied to all kinds of disciplines beyond the usual technology focus of BID. The four phases of the biomimicry thinking design process are described, step-by-step, in this perspective, from the position of teaching it to developers of products and services, processes, structures and systems that are designed for sustainable futures. The perspective ends with a list of challenges observed while teaching the process to designers, engineers and managers.
Biologically inspired engineering design uses analogies to biological systems to develop solutions for engineering problems. We conducted a study of biologically inspired design in the context of an interdisciplinary introductory course on biologically inspired engineering design in Fall of 2006. The goals of this study were to understand the process of biologically inspired engineering design and to provide insight into biologically inspired design as a type of design activity. This paper provides a descriptive account of biologically inspired design processes and products, and summarizes our main observations: 1) designers use two distinct starting points for biologically inspired design; 2) regular patterns of practice emerge in biologically inspired design; and 3) certain errors occur regularly in the design process.
Publication rate of patents can be a useful measure of innovation and productivity in fields of science and technology. To assess the growth in industrially-important research, I conducted an appraisal of patents published between 1985 and 2005 on online databases using keywords chosen to select technologies arising as a result of biological inspiration.Whilst the total number of patents increased over the period examined, those with biomimetic content had increased faster as a proportion of total patent publications. Logistic regression analysis reveals that we may be a little over half way through an initial innovation cycle inspired by biological systems.
The Lotus has been the symbol of purity for thousands of years; contaminations and pathogens are washed off the surfaces of Lotus and some other plants with rain or even dew. After the introduction of scanning electron microscopy, we were able to resolve the mechanism behind this phenomenon. It took some further decades before in-depth studies on self-cleaning with plants were conducted and the effect could be understood in detail. We identified extreme water-repellency ('superhydrophobicity'), characterized by very high contact angles and low sliding angles, as the prerequisite for self-cleaning properties. We could show that the combination of two factors is necessary for obtaining a high degree of water-repellency: (1) low energy surfaces being hydrophobic and (2) surface structures that significantly increase hydrophobicity. It is suggested that this mechanism plays an important role in the protection of plants against pathogens. Our technological application of this effect has resulted in the development of successful, eco-friendly and sustainable industrial products. Another interesting property was found with superhydrophobic surfaces of certain aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and animals: here a layer of air under water is retained. We present a new approach of using this feature for creating structured, air-retaining surfaces for technical underwater applications. It is proposed that such surfaces can reduce significantly the drag of large ships. We conclude that basic biological research is of particular importance for true innovation. Our research on superhydrophobic self-cleaning biological surfaces and the development of similar engineered materials suggests that biomimicry is a matter of multi-stage processes rather than a simple copying of biological developments.
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