BTY100-Lec 2.1 Biomimicry

Outline Biomimicry: Basic Concept Rationale behind Applications

Biomimicry Biomimicry =Bio+ Mimicry ‘Bio’ means life ‘Mimicry’ means to imitate Biomimicry is a discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

BIOMIMICRY Biomimicry =Bio+ Mimicry Biomimicry is a discipline that studies nature's best ideas and then imitates these designs and processes to solve human problems.

WHY MIMIC NATURE?? There is a simple answer to this question: Life has sustained on earth for 3.85 billion years. Life adapts and evolves Life creates conditions conducive to life http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/7-amazing-examples-of-biomimicry/copying-mother-nature

Strategies for Nature-Inspired Innovation Biology-to-Design approach Understanding a biological phenomenon and then applying it to a human design challenge. Design-to-Biology approach Identifying the core function of design challenge and then looking to nature to see how various organisms or ecosystems have achieved that function.

EXAMPLES

Learning efficiency from Kingfishers.. The Shinkansen Bullet Train (Japan): fastest train in the world (300 km/hour) The problem? Thunder claps/Sonic boom train moving at high speed compresses and displaces a great amount of air. Normally this air diffuses in all directions. However, when the train enters a tunnel, a high pressure zone or shockwave is created, which travels down the tunnel and arrives at the opposite exit some time before the train. When this pulse leaves the tunnel, it expands outward rapidly, creating a boom.

SOLUTION!! Kingfishers move quickly from air, a low-resistance medium, to water, a high-resistance medium. The kingfisher's beak provides an almost ideal shape for such an impact. The beak is streamlined, steadily increasing in diameter from its tip to its head. This reduces the impact as the kingfisher essentially wedges its way into the water, allowing the water to flow past the beak rather than being pushed in front of it. Because the train faced the same challenge, moving from low drag open air to high drag air in the tunnel, Nakatsu designed the forefront of the Shinkansen train based on the beak of the kingfisher.

Learning from Termites how to create sustainable buildings Learning from Termites how to create sustainable buildings... EASTGATE CENTRE Termites build gigantic mounds inside of which they farm a fungus that is their primary food source. The fungus must be kept at exactly 87 degrees F, while the temperatures outside range from 35 degrees F at night to 104 degrees F during the day. The termites achieve this at by constantly opening and closing a series of heating and cooling vents throughout the mound over the course of the day. With a system of carefully adjusted convection currents, air is sucked in at the lower part of the mound, down into enclosures with muddy walls, and up through a channel to the peak of the termite mound. The industrious termites constantly dig new vents and plug up old ones in order to regulate the temperature.

Air is continuously drawn from this open space by fans on the first floor. It is then pushed up vertical supply sections of ducts that are located in the central spine of each of the two buildings. The fresh air replaces stale air that rises and exits through exhaust ports in the ceilings of each floor. Ultimately it enters the exhaust section of the vertical ducts before it is flushed out of the building through chimneys.

Learning from Dolphins How to Warn People about Tsunamis Tsunami alert system Problem: Transmitting data through miles of water . Sound waves, while unique in being able to travel long distances through water, reverberate and destructively interfere with one another as they travel, compromising the accuracy of information.

SOLUTION!! Dolphins are able to communicate up to 25 kilometers in water. By employing several frequencies in each transmission, dolphins have found a way to cope with the sound scattering behavior of their high frequency, rapid transmissions, and still get their message reliably heard. Emulating dolphins' unique frequency-modulating acoustics, a company called EvoLogics has developed a high-performance underwater modem for data transmission, which is currently employed in the tsunami early warning system throughout the Indian Ocean.

Learning from Lotus Plants How to Clean without Cleaners The myriad crevices present in the leaf surface trap a maze of air upon which water droplets float, so that the slightest breeze or tilt in the leaf causes balls of water to roll cleanly off, taking attached dirt particles with them.

LOTUS EFFECT Using lotus leaf structure microscopically rough surface additives have been introduced into a new generation of paint, glass, and fabric finishes, greatly reducing the need for chemical or laborious cleaning. For example, GreenShield, a fabric finish made by G3i based on the "lotus effect", achieves the same water and stain repellency as conventional fabric finishes while using 8 times less harmful fluorinated chemicals.

Learning from Box fish

The Mercedes-Benz Bionic was a concept car created by DaimlerChrysler AG under the Mercedes Group. It was first introduced in 2005 at the DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington, D. C. The bionic was modelled after a type of fish, the yellow boxfish, Ostracion cubicus,and also has 80% lower nitrogen oxide emissions with its Selective Catalytic Reduction technology. The exterior design was modelled after the yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus), a marine fish that lives in coral reefs. Mercedes-Benz decided to model the Bionic after this fish due to the supposed low coefficient of drag of its body shape and the rigidity of its exoskeleton; this influenced the car's unusual looks. Other parts of the design include the fact that the rear wheels are partially fitted with plastic and that it's considered as a lightweight vehicle.

Burr = Velcro Velcro is widely known example of biomimicry. You may have worn shoes with velcro straps as a youngster and you can certainly look forward to wearing the same kind of shoes in retirement.   Velcro was invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral in 1941 after he removed burrs from his dog and decided to take a closer look at how they worked. The small hooks found at the end of the burr needles inspired him to create the now ubiquitous Velcro. Think about it: without this material, the world wouldn't know Velcro jumping — a sport in which people dressed in full suits of Velcro attempt to throw their bodies as high up on a wall as possible. 

Whale = Turbine Whales have been swimming around the ocean for a long time, and evolution has crafted them into a super-efficient form of life. They are able to dive hundreds of feet below the surface and stay there for hours. They sustain their massive size by feeding animals smaller than the eye can see, and they power their movement with über-efficient fins and a tail.   In 2004, scientists at Duke University, West Chester University and the U.S. Naval Academy discovered that the bumps at the front edge of a whale fin greatly increase its efficiency, reducing drag by 32 percent and increasing lift by 8 percent. Companies like Whale Power are borrowing this concept and creating wind turbine blades that greatly boost the amount of energy created per turbine. Other companies are applying the idea to cooling fans, airplane wings and propellers.

Birds = Jets Birds have been able to boost the distance they're able to fly by more than 70 percent though the use of the V-shape. Scientists have discovered that when a flocks takes on the familiar V-formation, when one bird flaps its wings it creates a small updraft that lifts the bird behind. As each bird passes, they add their own energy to the stroke helping all the birds maintain flight. By rotating their order through the stack, they spread out the exertion.

Why biomimicry... Biomimicry can help us to create products and processes that: Are sustainable Perform well Save Energy Cut Material Costs Redefine and Eliminate “Waste” Define new product categories and industries Drive Profits

Next Class: Biosensors