Biomimicry Emulate

Essential Elements of Biomimicry-Emulate

Multiple Choice

How long has life existed on Earth?

• 4.0 Billion Years

• 3.8 Billion Years

• 8.3 Billion Years

• 1.5 Billion Years

Multiple Choice

Mark likes hiking in the mountains. Which of Kellert's views of nature does Mark show?

• Dominionistic

• Naturalistic

• Symbolic

• Moralistic

Multiple Choice

Which Element of Biomimicry relates to the desire to fit into the natural world?

• Ethos

• (Re)Connect

• Emulate

Multiple Choice

Sue likes her pet dog because it is cute but dislikes mice and calls them pests. What view of nature does Sue show?

• Moralistic

• Humanistic

• Scientific

• Negativistic

Emulate

• One of the Three Pillars of Biomimicry

• Easiest one to visualize because there is a clear end product

• Is the intersection between Ethos and (Re)connect

• Emulation: bringing the principles, patterns, strategies, and functions found in nature to inform designs

Emulate

• No matter what career you go into, you will be a "designer" at some point in your life

  • Unique problems will arise that you will need to develop a solution to

• In Using a biomimicry mindset, you view the natural world as three things: Mentor, Model, and Measure

• Emulation requires a disciplined practice

  • Hard to do without following a pattern

The Biomimicry Process

• Biomimicry practitioners have come up with a method of using biomimicry thinking for design

  • Based on standard design processes in engineering

• While shaped like a wheel, the process can jump about in any order

Scoping

• The Preparation for Your Design

• The time to identify the problem and what is needed to solve it

  • If not done, can make the project more difficult

• Involves setting the scenario as well as setting up goals

• Three main parts

  • Define Context

  • Identify the Function

  • Integrate Life's Principles

Discovering

• The Phase of research and exploration

• Uses the context you established to come up with a list of model organisms that achieve the same function within the same or very similar context

  • With that list of organisms, you Abstract the Biological strategy and convert it biology to design

Creating

• The process of putting a design into action

• Involves making and testing prototypes

  • May not be exactly like the final product, but give a general idea

• This can lead to new context or function needs that require rescoping

Evaluating

• Once a solution is reached, it is necessary to evaluate it

  • Asses how appropriate/viable it is

• Looks for missed opportunities and places for refinement

• Usually results in revisiting other phases

Multiple Choice

During which phase of the biomimicry design process do you determine what overall function you want to achieve?

• Scoping

• Discovering

• Creating

• Evaluating

Multiple Choice

During which phase of the biomimicry design process do you look at the end result and decide how viable the solution is

• Scoping

• Discovering

• Creating

• Evaluating

Multiple Choice

During which phase of the biomimicry design process do you look for model organisms and preform research?

• Scoping

• Discovering

• Creating

• Evaluating

Multiple Choice

During which phase of the biomimicry design process do you discuss the context your design has to exist in?

• Scoping

• Discovering

• Creating

• Evaluating

Methods of Biomimicry Design

• There are two main methods that bring about biomimetic designs

  • Biology to Design

  • Challenge to Biology

Challenge to Biology

• The most common start of the Biomimicry process

• Involves a problem that requires research specific to the context you are working in

• Companies and individuals may seek out the help of specialists

Biology to Design

• A person notices a biological function and abstracts how that can be beneficial for a human problem

  • Generally found by being very engaged in Nature

• Not as common as a challenge to biology, but still happens

  • Example: Velcro

Biology to Design Example: Humpback Whale

• Dr. Frank Fish-Studies biomechanics and fluid movement

  • looked at a sculpture of a Humpback Whale, and noticed the tubercles (bumps) on the fins were on the leading edge

    • Assumed it was a mistake by the artist until shown live whales

• Worked with another scientist by taking the fins from a dead whale and putting it in a wind tunnel

  • Found that adding tubercles decreased the drag and made it easier to move

Open Ended

Read the Biological Strategy and try to come up with as many possible applications as possible:

The Cyphochilus beetle has a bright white color that comes from its body structure. Each Scale that makes up the exoskeleton of the beetle is made up of microscopic filaments that scatter light in all directions. When looking at the scales, on several species, it was found that the whitest beetles have the same amount of space between them (~30% empty volume). This allows the light to be reflected at an optimum angle without light beams interfering with each other, giving a bright light appearance that helps avoid overheating in a hot environment.

Open Ended

Read the Biological Strategy and try to come up with as many possible applications as possible:

Polar bears have relatively small foot pads to eliminate contact with the icy ground of their environment. While this is good for keeping warm, it makes walking more difficult due to the small surface area exposed to the ground. To Compensate, Polar Bears have Papillae (microscopic bumps) on their paws. Their papillae are 1.3-1.5 times larger than other species, which gives them more surface area to work with and helps them grip the icy land.