Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans ar ...

to the study and design of

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

systems and modern

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, scie ...

. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1958, is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsThe Six Million Dollar Man'' and '' The Bionic Woman'', both based upon the novel ''

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

'' by Martin Caidin. All three stories feature humans given various superhuman powers by their electromechanical implants. According to proponents of bionic technology, the transfer of technology between lifeforms and manufactured objects is desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces living organisms – fauna and flora – to become optimized and efficient. For example, dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) developed from the observation that practically nothing sticks to the surface of the

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often r ...

plant (the

lotus effect The lotus effect refers to self-cleaning properties that are a result of ultrahydrophobicity as exhibited by the leaves of '' Nelumbo'', the lotus flower. Dirt particles are picked up by water droplets due to the micro- and nanoscopic archite ...

). The term "

biomimetic Biomimetics or biomimicry is the emulation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems. The terms "biomimetics" and "biomimicry" are derived from grc, βίος (''bios''), life, and μίμησ ...

" is preferred for references to chemical reactions, such as reactions that, in nature, involve biological macromolecules (e.g., enzymes or nucleic acids) whose chemistry can be replicated ''in vitro'' using much smaller molecules. Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins;

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects on ...

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

, and medical

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hear it. This limit varies fr ...

imaging imitating

animal echolocation Echolocation, also called bio sonar, is a biological sonar used by several animal species. Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them. They use these ...

. In the field of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to practical disciplines (includin ...

, the study of bionics has produced

artificial neurons An artificial neuron is a mathematical function conceived as a model of biological neurons, a neural network. Artificial neurons are elementary units in an artificial neural network. The artificial neuron receives one or more inputs (representing ...

, artificial neural networks and swarm intelligence. Bionics also motivated advancement in

Evolutionary computation In computer science, evolutionary computation is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms, ...

but took the idea further by simulating evolution

in silico In biology and other experimental sciences, an ''in silico'' experiment is one performed on computer or via computer simulation. The phrase is pseudo-Latin for 'in silicon' (correct la, in silicio), referring to silicon in computer chips. It ...

and producing well-optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature. A 2006 research article estimated that "at present there is only a 12% overlap between

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...

and technology in terms of the mechanisms used".

History

The name "biomimetics" was coined by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s. The term "bionics" was coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1958 while working at the ''Aeronautics Division House'' at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene and Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patterson Fields, which were originally Wilbur W ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

. However, terms like biomimicry or biomimetics are preferred in order to avoid confusion with the medical term "bionics." Coincidentally, Martin Caidin used the word for his 1972 novel ''

Cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

'', which was adapted into the television film and subsequent series '' The Six Million Dollar Man''. Caidin was a long-time aviation industry writer before turning to fiction full-time.

Methods

The study of bionics often emphasizes implementing a function found in nature rather than imitating biological structures. For example, in computer science, cybernetics tries to model the feedback and control mechanisms that are inherent in intelligent behavior, while

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...

tries to model the intelligent function regardless of the particular way it can be achieved. The conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies is a form of applied

case-based reasoning In artificial intelligence and philosophy, case-based reasoning (CBR), broadly construed, is the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems. In everyday life, an auto mechanic who fixes an engine by recal ...

, treating nature itself as a database of solutions that already work. Proponents argue that the

selective pressure Any cause that reduces or increases reproductive success in a portion of a population potentially exerts evolutionary pressure, selective pressure or selection pressure, driving natural selection. It is a quantitative description of the amount of ...

placed on all natural life forms minimizes and removes failures. Although almost all

could be said to be a form of biomimicry, the modern origins of this field are usually attributed to

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing m ...

and its later codification as a house or field of study to Janine Benyus. There are generally three biological levels in the fauna or flora, after which technology can be modeled: *Mimicking natural methods of manufacture *Imitating mechanisms found in nature (e.g.

velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

) *Studying organizational principles from the social behaviour of organisms, such as the flocking behaviour of birds, optimization of ant foraging and bee foraging, and the swarm intelligence (SI)-based behaviour of a school of fish.

Examples

* In

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist human ...

, bionics and biomimetics are used to apply the way animals move to the design of robots. BionicKangaroo was based on the movements and physiology of kangaroos. *

Velcro Velcro, officially known as Velcro IP Holdings LLC and trading as Velcro Companies, is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of hook-and-loop fast ...

is the most famous example of biomimetics. In 1948, the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internati ...

engineer George de Mestral was cleaning his dog of burrs picked up on a walk when he realized how the hooks of the

burr Burr may refer to: Places * Burr (crater), on the Jovian moon Callisto *Burr, Minnesota, an unincorporated community, United States * Burr, Missouri, an unincorporated community, United States *Burr, Nebraska, a village, United States * Burr, Sa ...

s clung to the fur. *The horn-shaped, saw-tooth design for

lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

blades used at the turn of the 19th century to cut down trees when it was still done by hand was modeled after observations of a wood-burrowing

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

. The blades were significantly more efficient and thus revolutionized the timber industry. * Cat's eye reflectors were invented by Percy Shaw in 1935 after studying the mechanism of cat eyes. He had found that cats had a system of reflecting cells, known as

tapetum lucidum The ''tapetum lucidum'' ( ; ; ) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It reflects visible light back through the retina, increasing the light av ...

, which was capable of reflecting the tiniest bit of light. *

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

's flying machines and ships are early examples of drawing from nature in engineering. * Resilin is a replacement for rubber that has been created by studying the material also found in arthropods. *Julian Vincent drew from the study of pinecones when he developed in 2004 "smart" clothing that adapts to changing temperatures. "I wanted a nonliving system which would respond to changes in moisture by changing shape", he said. "There are several such systems in plants, but most are very small – the pinecone is the largest and therefore the easiest to work on". Pinecones respond to higher humidity by opening their scales (to disperse their seeds). The "smart" fabric does the same thing, opening up when the wearer is warm and sweating, and shutting tight when cold. *"Morphing aircraft wings" that change shape according to the speed and duration of flight were designed in 2004 by biomimetic scientists from

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

. The morphing wings were inspired by different bird species that have differently shaped wings according to the speed at which they fly. In order to change the shape and underlying structure of the aircraft wings, the researchers needed to make the overlying skin also be able to change, which their design does by covering the wings with fish-inspired scales that could slide over each other. In some respects this is a refinement of the swing-wing design. *Some paints and roof tiles have been engineered to be self-cleaning by copying the mechanism from the Nelumbo lotus. * Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) are the thin-film material often used to fabricate fish tank thermometers or

mood ring A mood ring is a finger ring that contains a thermochromic element, or "mood stone", that changes colors based on the temperature of the finger of the wearer. Finger temperature, as long as the ambient temperature is relatively constant, is ...

s, that change color with temperature changes. They change color because their molecules are arranged in a

helical Helical may refer to: * Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is ...

chiral Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable from i ...

arrangement and with temperature the pitch of that helical structure changes, reflecting different

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tr ...

s of light. Chiral Photonics, Inc. has abstracted the self-assembled structure of the organic CLCs to produce analogous optical devices using tiny lengths of inorganic, twisted

glass fiber Glass fiber ( or glass fibre) is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass. Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the inventi ...

. * Nanostructures and physical mechanisms that produce the shining color of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

wings were reproduced

Greg Parker Greg Parker (born 1954) is a British physicist. He served as a Professor of Photonics at the University of Southampton. He spent 23 years in research and lecturing. Career He now runs Parker Technology. His research interests included the desi ...

, professor of Electronics and Computer Science at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

and research student

Luca Plattner The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all cellular organisms; th ...

in the field of

photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...

, which is

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

using photons as the information carrier instead of

electrons The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary partic ...

. * The wing structure of the blue morpho butterfly was studied and the way it reflects light was mimicked to create an

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electroma ...

tag that can be read through water and on metal. * The wing structure of butterflies has also inspired the creation of new nanosensors to detect explosives. * Neuromorphic chips, silicon retinae or

cochlea The cochlea is the part of the inner ear involved in hearing. It is a spiral-shaped cavity in the bony labyrinth, in humans making 2.75 turns around its axis, the modiolus. A core component of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti, the sensory org ...

e, has wiring that is modelled after real neural networks. ''S.a.:'' connectivity. * Technoecosystems or 'EcoCyborg' systems involve the coupling of natural ecological processes to technological ones which mimic ecological functions. This results in the creation of a self-regulating hybrid system. Research into this field was initiated by Howard T. Odum, who perceived the structure and emergy dynamics of ecosystems as being analogous to energy flow between components of an electrical circuit. *

Medical adhesives Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

involving glue and tiny nano-hairs are being developed based on the physical structures found in the feet of geckos. * Computer viruses also show similarities with biological viruses in their way to curb program-oriented information towards self-reproduction and dissemination. * The cooling system of the Eastgate Centre building in

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its ...

was modeled after a termite mound to achieve very efficient passive cooling. * Adhesive which allows

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which ...

to stick to rocks, piers and boat hulls inspired bioadhesive gel for

blood vessels Blood vessels are the structures of the circulatory system that transport blood throughout the human body. These vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to the tissues of the body. They also take waste and carbon dioxide away fro ...

. *Through the field of bionics, new aircraft designs with far greater agility and other advantages may be created. This has been described by

Geoff Spedding Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

and

Anders Hedenström Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names ...

in an article in ''

Journal of Experimental Biology ''Journal of Experimental Biology'' (formerly ''The British Journal of Experimental Biology)'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of comparative physiology and integrative biology. It is published by The Company of Biologists. T ...

''. Similar statements were also made by

John Videler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and Eize Stamhuis in their book Avian Flight and in the article they present in ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

'' about LEVs. John Videler and Eize Stamhuis have since worked out real-life improvements to airplane wings, using bionics research. This research in bionics may also be used to create more efficient helicopters or miniature UAVs. This latter was stated by

Bret Tobalske Bret or BRET may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bret (given name), a personal name, including a list of people and fictional characters * Bret (surname), a list of people Other uses * a regional name for either the brill or the tu ...

in an article in ''Science'' about

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

s. Bret Tobalske has thus now started work on creating these miniature UAVs which may be used for espionage. UC Berkeley as well as ESA have finally also been working in a similar direction and created the Robofly (a miniature UAV) and the Entomopter (a UAV which can walk, crawl and fly). *A bio-inspired mechanical device can generate plasma in water via cavitation using the morphological accurate snapping shrimp claw. This was described in detail by Xin Tang and David Staack in an article published in ''

Science Advances ''Science Advances'' is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal established in early 2015 and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The journal's scope includes all areas of science, includ ...

''.

Specific uses of the term

In medicine

Bionics refers to the flow of concepts from

and vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word. In medicine, bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. Bionics' German equivalent, ''Bionik'', always adheres to the broader meaning, in that it tries to develop engineering solutions from biological models. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological solutions will usually be optimized by

evolutionary Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation t ...

forces. While the technologies that make bionic implants possible are developing gradually, a few successful bionic devices exist, a well known one being the Australian-invented multi-channel

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech und ...

(bionic ear), a device for

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

people. Since the bionic ear, many bionic devices have emerged and work is progressing on bionics solutions for other sensory disorders (e.g. vision and balance). Bionic research has recently provided treatments for medical problems such as neurological and psychiatric conditions, for example Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. In 1997, Colombian researcher Alvaro Rios Poveda developed an upper limb and hand

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

with sensory feedback. This technology allows amputee patients to handle prosthetic hand systems in a more natural way. By 2004 fully functional

artificial heart An artificial heart is a device that replaces the heart. Artificial hearts are typically used to bridge the time to heart transplantation, or to permanently replace the heart in the case that a heart transplant (from a deceased human or, exper ...

s were developed. Significant progress is expected with the advent of

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

. A well-known example of a proposed nanodevice is a respirocyte, an artificial red cell, designed (though not built yet) by Robert Freitas. During his eight years in the Department of Bioengineering at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

Kwabena Boahen Kwabena Adu Boahen is a Professor of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering at Stanford University. He previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Education and early life Kwabena Boahen was born on September 22, 1964, in Accra, Ghan ...

developed a

silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic ...

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

that was able to process images in the same manner as a living retina. He confirmed the results by comparing the electrical signals from his silicon retina to the electrical signals produced by a

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

eye while the two retinas were looking at the same image. On 21 July 2015, the BBC's medical correspondent

Fergus Walsh Fergus Walsh (born September 1961) is a British journalist who has been the BBC's medical editor since 2020, a newly created role, having previously been its long-time medical correspondent since 2006. He has won several awards for medical journ ...

reported, "Surgeons in Manchester have performed the first bionic eye implant in a patient with the most common cause of sight loss in the developed world. Ray Flynn, 80, has dry age-related macular degeneration which has led to the total loss of his central vision. He is using a retinal implant that converts video images from a miniature video camera worn on his glasses. He can now make out the direction of white lines on a computer screen using the retinal implant." The implant, known as the Argus II and manufactured in the US by the company Second Sight Medical Products, had been used previously in patients who were blind as the result of the rare inherited degenerative eye disease

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

. In 2016, Tilly Lockey (born 7 October 2005) was fitted with a pair of bionic "Hero Arms" manufactured b
OpenBionics
a UK bionics enterprise. The Hero Arm is a lightweight myoelectric prosthesis for below-elbow amputee adults and children aged eight and above. Tilly Lockey, who at 15 months had both of her arms amputated after being diagnosed with meningococcal sepsis strain B, describes the Hero Arms as “really realistic, to the point where it was quite creepy how realistic they were.” On 17 February 2020, Darren Fuller, a military veteran became the first person to receive a bionic arm. Fuller lost the lower section of his right arm while serving term in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

during an incident that involved mortar ammunition in 2008.

Other uses

Business biomimetics Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separate ...

is the latest development in the application of biomimetics. Specifically it applies principles and practice from biological systems to business strategy, process, organisation design and strategic thinking. It has been successfully used by a range of industries in FMCG, defence, central government, packaging and business services. Based on the work by Phil Richardson at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath
. Bath.ac.uk (21 February 2009). Retrieved on 23 April 2011. the approach was launched at the House of Lords in May 2009. In a more specific meaning, it is a

creativity technique Creativity techniques are methods that encourage creative actions, whether in the arts or sciences. They focus on a variety of aspects of creativity, including techniques for idea generation and divergent thinking, methods of re-framing problems, ...

that tries to use

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

prototypes to get ideas for engineering solutions. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological organisms and their organs have been well optimized by

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. In chemistry, a biomimetic synthesis is a

chemical synthesis As a topic of chemistry, chemical synthesis (or combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In mo ...

inspired by biochemical processes. Another, more recent meaning of the term bionics refers to merging organism and machine. This approach results in a hybrid system combining biological and engineering parts, which can also be referred as a cybernetic organism (

cyborg A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.

). Practical realization of this was demonstrated in Kevin Warwick's implant experiments bringing about

input via his own nervous system.

References

Sources

* ''Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature''. 1997. Janine Benyus. * ''Biomimicry for Optimization, Control, and Automation'', Springer-Verlag, London, 2005, Kevin M. Passino
"Ideas Stolen Right from Nature"
(''

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

'') * ''Bionics and Engineering: The Relevance of Biology to Engineering, presented at Society of Women Engineers Convention'', Seattle, WA, 1983, Jill E. Steele * ''Bionics: Nature as a Model''. 1993. PRO FUTURA Verlag GmbH, München, Umweltstiftung WWF Deutschland *Lipov A.N. "At the origins of modern bionics. Bio-morphological formation in an artificial environment" ''Polygnosis''. No. 1–2. 2010. Ch. 1–2. pp. 126–136. *Lipov A.N. "At the origins of modern bionics. Bio-morphological formation in an artificial environment." ''Polygnosis''. No. 3. 2010. Part 3. pр. 80–91.

External links

Bionics Queensland

Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering at UCL (University College London)

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

The Biomimicry Institute

Center for Biologically Inspired Design

Biologically Inspired Design group at the Design and Intelligence Lab, Georgia Tech

Center for Biologically Inspired Materials & Material Systems

Biologically Inspired Product Development at the University of Maryland

The Biologically Inspired Materials Institute

Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research at Case Western Reserve University

Bio Inspired Engineering at the Applied University Kufstein, Austria

Laboratory for Nature Inspired Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University
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