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Education Design Your Invention Learning From the Best – Mimicking Nature for Effective Design
Education Design Your Invention Learning From the Best – Mimicking Nature for Effective Design | Learning From the Best – Mimicking Nature for Effective Design |
| Written by Bryan Daigle | |
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Nature has often been the guiding force for those who attempt to attain the impossible using technology. The airplane, mimicry of nature, was inspired by birds. There are many instances where nature delivered a learning lesson which was shaped into a new technology.
The process of designing new inventions inspired by nature is known as “Biomimicry” which, if implemented successfully, can bring about radical changes in the world of product development. Underwater rocks, the beak of a bird and the shape of whales have been utilized in developing biodegradable glues, the bullet train of Japan, and massive turbines. These products are the brainchild of strategists who posses faith in the underlying intelligence of nature, and try to create products in harmony with it. Implementation of the concept Janine Benyus is a well-known biologist cum evangelist who has explained the potency of nature and its marriage with product design in her book “Biomimcry: Innovation Inspired by Nature”. Companies like GE, HP and NASA have successfully implemented this idea to utilize the essence of nature in their products. Designs using lessons from nature make products unique yet sophisticated enough to lure potential customers. Some of examples of mimicking nature are: • Anti collision system of Ford and Volvo were designed after observing locusts that gather into one area without colliding. • Some architects build houses starting from the roof and then work downwards. This idea was inspired by insects like bees and spiders. • The Eiffel Tower was built on the basis of tubular struts found in the human femur. • The concept of aerodynamic automobiles came from the boxfish, whose base, movement and bone structure were copied in their design.                     |
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