Date: September 4, 2023.
Do you ever find yourself overwhelmed by numerous tasks or facing a mental block? Your mind might feel empty, devoid of ideas, or you’re just bored to the core. Then, an idea strikes — why not go for a walk in nature? As you wander, your mind starts to clear. The calmness washes over you, and suddenly, inspiration finds you. As you observe your surroundings, you’re rejuvenated, and before you know it, you’re back to your normal self, or even better, brimming with fresh ideas. Nature truly serves as a wellspring of inspiration. Think about Sir Isaac Newton, who sat beneath an apple tree, seemingly bored, only to have an apple fall and spark a breakthrough. Similarly, Leonardo da Vinci observed birds while conceptualizing flying machines. Even George de Mestral, a Swiss engineer, had a eureka moment when he noticed spiky seeds sticking to his dog’s fur. By studying them under a microscope, he developed Velcro! So, were these remarkable inventions born out of boredom? Not quite — it’s nature’s influence that shines through. There’s even a term for this:
Biomimicry, where nature becomes the muse for creativity.
Biomimicry: Approaches and Levels
In the realm of biomimicry, two main processes exist: the problem-oriented and solution-oriented approaches. The first tackles existing human needs or design problems, seeking solutions from nature’s examples. The second focuses on intriguing principles, behaviors, or functions found in organisms or ecosystems and then seeks corresponding design problems. These approaches respectively work top-down (design to biology) and bottom-up (biology to design), shaping the innovation process.
Nature serves as inspiration at various levels: organism, behavior, and ecosystem.
Organism Level: This involves imitating a specific plant or animal, potentially replicating a part or the entire organism. Sharkskin-inspired Swimsuits: Designers have taken inspiration from Sharkskin’s unique texture to create swimsuits that reduce drag and increase efficiency for swimmers. The texture helps repel water and minimize resistance, just like in nature’s design. Kingfisher’s Beak and High-Speed Trains: The kingfisher’s beak has inspired the design of high-speed trains. The streamlined shape of the beak helps the bird dive into water with minimal splashing. This concept was applied to the front of the Shinkansen bullet trains in Japan, reducing noise and increasing efficiency by minimizing air resistance.
Behavior Level: It mimics the behavior of a living being, translating aspects of their actions and understanding how they relate to a larger context. Swarm Robotics and Insect Behavior: Insects like bees and ants exhibit collective behavior and coordination in their colonies. Researchers have developed swarm robotics, where groups of simple robots work together based on principles of insect behavior. These robotic swarms are used for tasks such as search and rescue operations and environmental monitoring.
Ecosystem Level: This level imitates an entire natural ecosystem, adopting the successful principles enabling its functioning. Urban Ecosystem Design: City planners are looking to natural ecosystems for inspiration in designing sustainable urban spaces. Concepts like vertical gardens, green roofs, and rainwater harvesting systems mimic the way natural ecosystems manage resources and create habitats.
At each level, there are five dimensions of imitation:
Form: How does it look?
Material: What is it made of?
Construction: How is it assembled?
Performance: How does it operate?
Function: What purpose does it serve?
Research — Abstraction — Implementation
The journey to achieving a biomimetic marvel involves three essential stages: Research, Abstraction, and Implementation.
Research is the initial phase where you identify the most fitting biological role model that you wish to emulate. Abstraction comes next, involving the transformation of the biological principle into a concrete and tangible design. Finally, the Implementation phase is where you bring your envisioned biomimetic application to life. This step entails using established design methodologies, selecting appropriate materials, and leveraging relevant technologies to realize your desired outcome.
Folks, evolution is an iterative process. Nature has undergone countless processes over billions of years, refining itself through numerous trials and errors. In each testing scenario, it has progressively improved and become more efficient. Consider us — life began with a single cell, and now we stand as an astronomically intricate species on Earth and in the known universe. If we view organisms as systems, we are the ones who have evolved into sentience. We can read our instructions and have elevated ourselves to an even more advanced level by writing our own instructions, striving for optimal outcomes. However, the pivotal question arises-
Should we overwrite the instructions?
As Siddhartha Mukherjee stated in his book ‘The Gene: An Intimate History,’ “It is a realm inhabited by ‘previvors’ and ‘post-humans’: individuals who have been screened for genetic vulnerabilities or engineered with modified genetic tendencies… Chance would be reduced, but inevitably, so would choice.”
Author’s note: As I mentioned earlier, whether you get overwhelmed and are on the brink of breakdown or you’re stuck in life and do not know what to do, turn to nature. We’ve been through a lot as a species (over many centuries), we started from nature, we end up in nature, and everything we do in the middle is a reflection of our DNA and the information it holds, all while striving to become the best versions of ourselves.
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