Form and Function and Biomimicry
(Nature Inspired Design or Biomimetics)
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A burdock (burr) under a microscope
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Velcro under a microscope
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Animal Inspiration
Robotic Arms
The biomimicry story
The elephant's trunk inspired this versatile robotic arm. The roughly 40,000 muscle bundles in an elephant's trunk provide an appendage that is flexible, capable of transmitting large forces, precise, delicate, and highly compliant.
Fog Catching
In some of this planet’s driest regions, where rainfall is rare or even nonexistent, a few specialized plants and insects have devised ingenious strategies to provide themselves with the water necessary for life: They pull it right out of the air, from fog that drifts in from warm oceans nearby.
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Namibian Beetle
has evolved a unique adaptation to survive in one of the driest deserts in the world. It collects water from early morning fog; fog basking. The bumps on its back attract water like magnets attract iron. The droplets slide right down the beetle’s back and into its thirsty mouth!
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By mimicking the Namibian Beetle, humans are now figuring out how to make fog-catching nets. This allows people in some areas of the world to capture water and save energy that would normally have been spent pumping water over long distances.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDXWK5GRaiQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41mLIEoo6D4 (especially at 4 minutes)
Can a Shark's Tail & Kelp Play a Role in the Planet's Energy Future?
The objects below mimic the motion of kelp and generate electricity.
The same company has also experimented with the shark tail shape.
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