12 sustainable design ideas from nature
People believe that they are using biomimicry such as using bacteria to clean water. Benyus states that this is actually called bio assisting. Biomimicry is learning a natural idea and applying it.
How does life make 'things'?
How does life make the most of 'thing's?
How does life make 'things' diappear into systems?
1. Self assembly
2. CO2 as a feedstock
3. Solar transformations
4. Power of shape
5. Quencing thirst
6. Metals without mining
7. Green chemistry
8. Time degradation
9. Resilience and healing
10. Sensing and responding
11. Growing fertility
12. Life creates conditons conclucive to life design
Let us use the resources of nature and not create something that will render our environment unsustainable.
Biomimicry is used in many of today's construction. In building glazing for example, characteristics of a lotus are used to design windows that 'self-cleans.' Other ideas would include passive cooling in buildings which are much similar to the termite mounds that inspired it. The use of biomimicry is interesting because it is available to anyone, one would have to discover it's nature and invent ways to utilize the concept.
Existing Biomimicry that Changed the World:
Velcro
Uses the idea of tiny hooks on the end of a burr's spines to create a fastener system. Invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral when he discovered the burrs stuck on his dog's hair.
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| www.aaet.dk |
Passive Cooling
In Zimbabwe, tower-building termites constantly open and close vents from their mounds to manage convection currents of air. Cooler air is drawn in from open lower section while hot air escapes. Sounds familiar?
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| www.ics.ele.tue.nl |
Gecko Tape
Adhesive tape was discovered through the feet of gecko lizards. These lizards have millions of tiny, flexible hairs that provide a powerful adhesive effect. To mimic this, tape is covered with nanoscopic hairs with similar adhesiveness.
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| robotics.eecs.berkeley.edu |
Whalepower Wind Turbine
Humpback whales' flippers make them surprisingly agile in the water. The flipper-inspired turbine blades provide applications from wind turbines, hydroelectric turbines, irrigation pumps, and ventilation fans.
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| therecycletimes.com |
Lotus Effect Hydrophobia
The surface water of lotus' leaves are bumpy causing water to bead and pick up contaminates and roll off. This study inspired applications such as water resistance.
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| en.wikipedia.org |
Self-Healing Plastics
A human's body is able to heal on its own from scrapes and cuts. This study suggested a ligh polymer composite theat produces material that are self-healing.
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| www.technologyreview.com |
The Golden Streamlining Principle
The idea of air and fluid movement technologes based on the Fibonacci sequence, logarithmic spiral and the Golden Ratio, applies to fans, mixers, and impellers.
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| infocom-hmjts-uty.blogspot.com |
Artificial Photosynthesis
Using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen for clean fuel.
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| www.earthtechling.com |
Bionic Car
Aerodynamic ideals will consider boasting 20% less fuel consumption and 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide omissions.
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| www.lwl.org |
Morphing Aircraft Wings
The changing shape depending on the speed and duration of flight inspired by birds and fish.
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| www.dailymail.co.uk |
Friction-Reducing Sharkskin
The ability of shark's skin to reduce drag inspired researchers to develop coating for ship hulls, submarines, aircraft fuselage, and swimwear for humans.
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| fishingcrew.blogspot.com |
Diatomaceous Nanotech
Tiny, single-celled algae known as diatoms expressed it's reliability to manufacture working valves of various shapes and sizes that can be used in nano-devices to deliver drugs to specific targes in the body.
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| engineering.curiouscatblog.net |
Glo-fish
Glow-in-the-dark aquarium fish produce fluorescent protein that will prove a necessity in an ecological role, but unfortunately it just serves the purpose of simply being 'cool.'
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| www.nbcnews.com |
Insect-Inspired Autonomous Robots
Study of insect's ability to cover varied terrain, clim surfaces, and provide stability, their eyes offer greater resolution and panoramic range, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing environments become a generator for robot applications.
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| coe.berkeley.edu |
Butterfly-Inspired Displays
Helps with smart phones and saves battery due to the displaying static image producing near-zero power. It's the reflected light principle and how human beings perceive light from a butterfly's wings.
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| www.greenbiz.com |
Biomimicry has certainly pushed the boundaries in many fields. Evolution certainly has had a bit more time than us to develop more efficient systems but the issue of finding natural examples that we can use to solve the problems we are facing can be difficult. The possibilities of this type of design and development are only limited by our ability to relate these naturally occurring phenomena to our own problems. Hopefully this continues to be treated in a serious manner as the amount of progress made has been quite astounding.
ReplyDeleteThese are great developments in science and culture. I am reminded of the technological singularity that Ray Kurzweil wrote about. He argued that all "information technology" is growing and accelerating at a predictable rate. This would include evolutionary processes, as he argues that DNA is in fact a form of information technology. He goes on to describe the telescoping nature of evolution (1 billion years for the start of life, but only half the time for new life forms to emerge followed by half that time for even newer ones). In human history, we see things like the agricultural revolution, followed by the industrial revolution in a fraction of the time. perhaps what bio mimicry is building up to is artificial intelligence. When that occurs, self sustaining buildings would be able to adapt and create systems to maximize their own environments according to the sustainable performance goals we desire.
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