Biomimetics: science inspired by nature

From observations about nature, biomimetics develops functionalities useful to humans

Biomimetics

Image: chuttersnap on Unsplash

The world population has grown a lot and quickly, cultivating unsustainable habits. Nature, which has reached its limit, demands a change of attitude. And no one better than herself, after more than 3.8 billion years of selecting efficient, durable and appropriate standards and strategies to set an example for us.

What is Biomimetics?

Biomimetics is the area that studies the creative principles and strategies of nature, aiming to create solutions to the current problems of humanity, uniting functionality, aesthetics and sustainability.

The principle of biomimetics is to use nature as an example and source of inspiration, and not an appropriation similar to synthetic biology practices (learn more here). Nature must be consulted, not domesticated, reinforcing the idea of ​​sustainability. And it has been used in various fields, such as chemistry, biology, medicine, architecture, agriculture and transport.

In nature, organisms use only the energy they need, as some need to produce their own, through photosynthesis, or appropriate an alien source through hunting. In addition, they work in cooperation, respect diversity, adapt form to function, optimize use instead of maximizing it, promote recycling and do not waste.

termite

applications

Scientists have worked based on these concepts and on geometric, mathematical, functional, constructive, technological, behavioral and aesthetic patterns of living systems observed around us. The results are new ways of growing food, producing materials, generating energy, healing procedures, creating adaptive instruments, storing information and other processes that are sustainable, adaptable, use free energy and integrate organisms.

A very old and well-known example of the application of biomimetics is Velcro (see photo at the top of the page). It was raised by George de Mestral after studying how burrs were attached to his dog's fur. Upon seeing the seed through a microscope, the engineer noticed that it had intertwined filaments and small hooks at the ends. He developed a process that worked the same way (see more here).

As another example, we have the decrease in energy use with air conditioning in large buildings, as engineers are relying on termite mound cooling mode (pictured immediately above). The termite abode is always kept humid and at an almost constant temperature regardless of the variation in the external temperature, due to a complex network of chambers and passages. Lower vents allow fresh air to enter, while warm air escapes through an opening at the top.

However, not all innovation created from biomimicry is sustainable. Velcro itself, for example, can be made with synthetic materials that are difficult to use later. Therefore, the inspiration cannot be just in the design, but in the entire process process that takes place in nature.

It is not enough just to know what biomimetics is, or to apply it. Biomimetics should not only be treated as a new way of seeing and valuing nature, but also as a way of caring for and preserving what it still has to offer us. Experts say that many species and their ways of life have not yet been discovered, and they certainly form, together with those already known, countless possibilities for solutions.



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