Biomimicry

What is biomimicry?
 Greek: Bios = life, mimesis = to imitate
 Design inspired by nature
 Biologically inspired engineering
History
 Leonardo da Vinci’s  The Wright brothers’
‘flying machine’ first successful airplane
How can nature help us solve problems?

THE WORLD’S BEST WATER DISTRIBUTION

NETWORK
Bullet trains inspired by Kingfisher birds

 Due to their blunt front nose caps, bullet trains would cause
a massive amount of noise
 Upon entering tunnels they would create a ‘tunnel boom‘
 New series of bullet trains were modeled after the beak of
the Kingfisher bird
Antimicrobial film mimicking sharkskin

 Sharkskin – covered with „dermal denticles“ which pull the shark

forward and help reduce drag
 Speedo incorporated biomimetic sharkskin into a line of swimsuits
 The U.S. Navy made Sharklet, material based on sharkskin
 Dermal denticles help fend-off microorganisms
 Hospitals use biomimetic sharkskin to combat cross-contamination
 Absorbing shock like a woodpecker

 Woodpeckers- exceptional excavating capacity.

 They experience a deceleration of 1200 gravitational pulls (Gs) nearly 22 times per
second.
 Semi-elastic beak, an area of “spongy bone” material behind the skull, and
cerebrospinal fluid.
 Shock-resistant flight recorders (black boxes) to micrometeorite-resistant
spacecrafts.
Ventilation systems inspired by
termites

 Mounds with solar-powered ventilation systems.

 A hole in the center that works like an atrium or
chimney.
 Smaler tubes on the side.
 Airflow ventilates the mound efficiently--no air
conditioning needed.
 This system uses 10 percent less energy than a
traditional air-conditioned facility.
Wind turbines modeled after
Humpback whales

 The Humpback whale, uses bumpy, tubercle fins for

propulsion.
 These nodules enable the whales to choose a steeper
“angle of attack.”
 These biomimetic fins reduce drag by nearly a third and
improved lift by eight percent overall.
 Whale Power’s biomimetic blades help generate the
“same amount of power at 10 miles per hour that
conventional turbines generate at 17 miles per hour.”
THANK YOU !