Biomimicry in the main stream

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Comment by Chris Weigand on November 17, 2009 at 5:57pm

Core 77 is a design website that I frequent. Today they posted up a blog post regarding The Biomimicry Institute. So word is getting out in design circles. Check the post out here:

http://www.core77.com/blog/technology/the_biomimicry_institute_help...

The Biomimicry Institute helps you figure out how Nature solves design challenges
Posted 17 Nov 2009

Check that thing out. That's a Thorny Devil Lizard. The nasty spikes all over its body have grooves in them, and when dew collects on its body, the dew is actually drawn towards its mouth through capillary action, providing it with something to drink.


That's a piece of bamboo. Despite being thin, it's super-strong and resists buckling due to the "transverse bulkheads" that make up its structure.


That's a toucan, as in Toucan Sam. Sam's beak is "lightweight and strong thanks to a rigid foamy inside and layers of fibrous keratin tile outside."

All of these natural phenomena and more are posted in the "Strategy" section of The Biomimicry Institute's Ask Nature website, expressly for the purpose of inspiring designers, engineers and inventors to create bio-inspired solutions to problems we face. As the site puts it,

Imagine 3.8 billion years of design brilliance available for free, at the moment of creation, to any sustainability innovator in the world.
Imagine nature's most elegant ideas organized by design and engineering function....

Now imagine you can meet the people who have studied these organisms, and together you can create the next great bio-inspired solution.

That's the idea behind AskNature, the online inspiration source for the biomimicry community. Think of it as your home habitat--whether you're a biologist who wants to share what you know about an amazing organism, or a designer, architect, engineer, or chemist looking for planet-friendly solutions. AskNature is where biology and design cross-pollinate, so bio-inspired breakthroughs can be born.

Comment by Victoria on November 11, 2009 at 10:41am

Chris,
Thank you for sharing. I posted the video as well.