(RED- explaining, not included in the PowerPoint) (BLACK- Included in the PowerPoint) (BLUE-

Notes)

Jasmine

Before we report, what are your inspirations that made you what you are today? (Ask 3
classmates)

What is biomimicry?

Biomimicry is the design process that looks to nature for inspiration in creating solutions to
improve the quality of life. The term was coined by biologist Janine Benyus from the Greek
words bias meaning "life," and mimesis, meaning "to imitate." Other terms used for biomimicry
are bionics and bio-inspiration. Biomimicry is not a new science. Many investors have practiced
it for many years. They have taken notice of the efficiency of nature's designs. Biomimicry is
basically based on understanding how organisms adapt, live, and the process of doing
something to apply it to our lives and to benefit us. Applying it, humans can achieve the abilities
of the nature.  Which is a great benefit to correct the wrong practices.

Humans have always wanted to fly. Early inventors like Leonardo da Vinci famously known the
one who created the Mona Lisa, looked to birds to study why and how they fly, which then
inspired their designs of flying machines. Most of his inventions was based on biomimicry, which
became his model, guide, and reference standard for his inventions. We may not be able to
imitate it in a physical way effectively, but by using our minds we can apply it mechanically like
planes. Ideas are not limited and there is a lot of things we haven’t discovered yet. Nature is
using some systems that can benefit them and we observe what they are doing because we are
curious just like Leonardo.

Nature offers sustainable solutions. Just go for a walk outside and observe the efficiency of
natural design. The concept of sustainability is best understood when you realize that nature is
about balance. Animals only take what they need, therefore, not depleting their supply. Plants
are fertilized by compost created by the action of earthworms, and thus their shade protects
codependent organisms. Learning from nature can help ensure that the environment can
sustain human race for a very long time. By just imitating them, we can live the same as them.
Right now, most of us are solving problems in not a sustainable way like making energy out of
coal which makes CO2 making a greenhouse effect, making products that cannot be recycled
but compare it to nature, it is all balanced. Remember, ideas are not limited and so it is the
opportunity to replace the wrong practices.

Winzel

Biomimicry in action

Boxfish-Inspired Car

The engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre and the DaimlerChrysler Research
department looked for a specific example in nature that could provide a design for aerodynamic
streamlined efficiency. The tropical boxfish came out as their model. The prototype boxfish car
was tested in a wind tunnel. The engineers wanted to determine. how well it can resist the force
of the air in the tunnel and glide with ease. They measured the coefficient of drag (CD), a
unitless value. The lower the C, the better the aerodynamic performance. The boxfish car
achieved a wind drag coefficient of 0.19, while other brand models had higher Cp values. This
low Cp reduces fuel consumption by 20 percent compared with other cars. Now, we are
experiencing a lot of problems regarding to gasoline. The price of gasoline is getting higher in
the Philippines. By using this idea, we can save money and the environment around us.

Spider Web-Inspired Fishing Nets

Although elastic and lightweight, the web is strong enough to carry a load five times the weight
of the spider. The fishing net, the screens in your windows, the net design in fabrics may have
been inspired by the spider's web-a feat in material strength and efficient design. Not using a
durable kind of rope, but using a structure that is durable than what kind of rope it was.

Photosynthesis-Inspired Solar Chargers

Taking inspiration from how plants harness energy from the sun to create their food, humans
too have found a way to tap solar energy and convert it into electrical energy. Solar chargers
store solar energy by mimicking photosynthesis. In the chloroplast of plant cells is chlorophyll,
the green pigment that absorbs solar energy and, with water and carbon dioxide, produces
sugar and energy in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). In the solar cells of the charger,
photons from sunlight knocks off electrons from silicon. The free electrons then create an
electric current that can power up cell phones and other gadgets.

Whale Fins-Inspired Wind Turbine Blades

Scientists have looked to the humpback whales to improve the efficiency of wind turbine blades,
especially when the wind is not strong. The flippers of the whale have a series of bumps called
tubercles, which help the whale maneuver by influencing the drag and lift of the whale.
Scientists used this design to create wind turbine blades with tubercles, increasing their
performance by 40 percent. Thus, even if the wind is not as strong, the wind turbine still
maximizes its performance.

Is biomimicry limited? And why it is not. (Ask 3 classmates)

 Values from Nature

Biomimicry is not limited to creating products. It can also help you observe how nature, and the
organisms establish relationships, share leadership, and communicate efficiently. As social
animals, humans engage in teambuilding and communication during day-to-day encounters.
You rely on teamwork to efficiently complete tasks. Although organized teams work as one, they
are also made up of individuals with unique characteristics.

Nature's teams can communicate without technologies such as mobile phones, internet, and
social networks. They efficiently sound off early-warning alarms for upcoming disasters. They
can signal other organisms to run for safety.

Examples that we may learn from the nature.

Cooperation and Trust. Nature's communities operate in a system of "cooperation and trust"
rather than "command and control." Ants can organize and look for food for the entire colony
without a commander or a supervisor telling them to do so. Each ant is self-motivated to work
for the good of the colony. In contrast to us humans, some depend on commands from
someone to do what is right and even some doesn’t do a thing because of lack of motivation. To
cooperate is to trust and to trust is to cooperate.

 Shared Leadership.

During the flight of migratory birds, leadership does not belong absolutely to one individual.
Each bird can lead the flock. The lead bird is at the tip of the V-shaped formation, working the
hardest as the flock cuts through the air. Once the lead bird tires, it moves back, and another
bird moves forward to take its place. Human teams should realize that everyone can be a
leader.

Everybody gets tired too, and to change roles is to not get burned out. Sharing leadership can
make your team like a pride of lions.

Maximum Team Size.

Nature knows what size of a community is adequate for effective interaction. When a group
becomes too large, it is divided into smaller groups that branch out in geometric shapes. It may
look good when the more people the better. But the more members you have in your group the
more communications you must deal with. Think of it like food for your team, it is not enough to
feed a whole team, and so that’s where limiting the size goes in.

krissa

Effective Communication: Shout and Whisper. Effective communication in nature is

classified as a shout when, through one act, all members are informed. Another is the whisper,
where a message is transmitted on a one-on-one basis, as in an ant touching another. Shout
(one to all) is exemplified when a bee's waggle dance informs all bees in the colony the location
of the food. Animals secrete chemicals called pheromones to communicate a warning or mating
desires. Whether your information you have to say should be heard by everybody or a particular
person only.

 Reviewing Resource Cycles of Earth

The study of biomimicry also looks at how nature sustains itself. In this section, we will examine
closed loop geocycles to motivate us to change some of our practices. Closed Loops Nature
uses and produces materials in a sustainable manner. The water cycle, for instance, happens
all the time. A water drop from the sea evaporates into water vapor that rises into the clouds
where it condenses and then precipitates down as rain, which in turn runs off to the sea.
Basically, nature is full of closed loops where you can go back to the beginning. Some plastics
are hard to recycle which can take thousands of years to decompose and this lesson is focusing
on motivating us from changing our practices. On the book, teachers in Cagayan de Oro gave
some ideas or inventions for this topic. What they did was to make a theme park for kids that
can be sustainable by using the closed loop systems.

 Looking at How Organisms Adapt to Their Environment Look at how organisms survive
or adapt to their environment.

How would you cool an area where temperature swings from high to low? Where do you look for
inspiration? The desert features organisms that can stay cool in a hot climate. A cactus-inspired
building in Doha, Qatar in the Middle East, Its swollen shape is large in the midsection and
constricted at the top, offering good shade on the ground level when the sun is directly above.
Spikes at the sides of the building mimic the needles of the cactus plant and offer additional
shade below. Smart shades open and close depending on the intensity of the sun. We became
curious at how a living thing survive in a hot climate. It may look impossible, but the design
made it cooler. Applying it, we can reduce the use of electricity, Air conditioners etc.

Rafaela

Biomimicry Design challenge

In 2010-2011, the global architectural design challenge titled Design Against the Elements
(DAE) was launched to provide green solutions to the climate change-related problems. The
group used a coral ecosystem as a model for cities and harmonious dwellings. It applied the
principles of green passive designs to maximize the energy benefits of the building while
maintaining cost effectiveness. Green active designs refer to sustainable buildings that have
advanced. features such as LED lights, air conditioners. with low energy consumption, and films
on windows that filter sunlight. All these are cost-saving devices. In green passive design,
buildings are designed in a way that maximizes the use of natural and renewable sources of
energy such as the sun and wind to provide ventilation, cooling, heating, and lighting. Passive
design reduces the use of air conditioners, mechanical heaters and the like.

Without using things that consume energy, it is still effective, efficient and also sustainable.

Principles Behind the Winning Design

Corals as Inspiration.

The corals inspire the design for a sustainable community. They are colonies of organized
identical units called polyps that grow in marine ecosystems such as those found in Philippine
seas. Geometric Design and Disaster-Resilient Features. ItalPinas, Incorporated, a Euro-Asian
design and eco development corporation with an office in Manila, designed a condominium
complex using voronoi tessellation as a strategy. It was inspired by the architectural geometry of
corals. This is how biomimetic solutions are designed. The process on how they made a unique
idea that can be a benefit for us.

Voronoi tessellation is a model for separating spaces, which describes the spatial arrangement
of cells. The design includes individual ring-shaped buildings with modular living units and
optimal structural. performance to withstand earthquakes and typhoons. Emergency escape
paths and protected areas are included in case of floods or natural disasters. Wind circulation
through the buildings provides natural ventilation and minimizes the stress from strong typhoon
winds. Rainwater is collected and drained out through an interconnected system of canals,
minimizing the effects of floods and optimizing water resource management. By designing its
structure, it made a big impact on sustaining and effectiveness.

Can we make an efficient design in a low budget? And where can we inspire that from? (Ask 3
classmates)

(Say this after classmates finished answering the questions) From all the lessons we tackled,
we now conclude that you can get ideas from nature and these ideas does not have any
limitations, but you can make more unique ideas that can be a benefit for the environment to
correct the wrong practices of humans.