INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

ON

BIOMIMCRY

NAME: R.RAMKUMAR
STD: XII B
ROLL NO.: 12245
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost I thank lord almighty and secondly our

principal, Rev. Bro. Robert for providing us this platform of
education. I would like to express my special thanks to my
teacher Mrs. A Jenitta Hepzibah who gave me this wonderful
opportunity to accomplish this project on the topic
‘BIOMIMICRY’, which enlightened me in so many different
topics and skills.im also deeply thankful to my parents and
friends who helped me through the course of this project and
enabled me to complete it within the time frame.
 CONTENT

 What is biomimicry?
Early examples of biomimicry
1. Rock-cut Architechture
2. Silk
3. Pyramids
4. Myths and legends
 Why teach biomimicry?
 Some examples of biomimicry
1. Velcro
2. Sleek shark skin
3. Diatoms as cheap solar cell
4. Beetles show the way to water conservation
5. Gecko's grip and adhesive
6. Umbrellas
 Advantages of Biomimicry
 Conclusion
 Bibliography
AIM:
This rewiew reflects on the ideaology that biomimicry
is the imitation of the models, systems, and elements of
nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems
Living organisms have evolved well-adapted structures and
materials over geological time through natural selection.
Biomimetic has given rise to new technologies inspired by
biological solutions at macro and nanoscales. Nature has
solved engineering problems such as self-healing abilities,
environmental exposure tolerance and resistance,
hydrophobicity, self-assembly, and harnessing solar energy.

Biomimcry could in principle be applied in many fields.

Because of the diversity and complexity of biological
systems, the number of features that might be imitated is
large. Biomimetic applications are at various stages of
development from technologies that might become
commercially usable to prototypes
 Early examples of Biomimicry
While humans have only studied biomimicry for the past
half century, the earth has been developing efficient
methods of life for 3.8 billion years. Our planet is the
oldest and wisest teacher we could ask for. However
throughout our extremely short history we have not
exactly seen eye to eye with the earth. It is because of
this that we are experiencing changes in the climate that
will prove detrimental to our future. This project is
designed to open the minds of the reader to a new form
of innovation. Biomimicry, innovation inspired by the
natural processes of earth. This timeline highlights
examples of biomimicry that hopefully enlighten you
and inspire anew way to create.
Rock-Cut Architecture: 6000 BCE
Caves have been used as shelter since the monolithic era
6000 BCE, so it makes perfect sense that in India
Buddhist temples and shrines were actually carved into
caves and mountain sides. These temples eventually
doubled as trade posts on the Silk Road.
Silk: 3000 BCE

Silk is one of the first examples of biomimicry that we see

in human history. Use of the material is dated back to
4000 BC, making it one of the first fabrics invented by
humans. It is common knowledge that silk comes from
silkworms, and the Chinese were the first civilization to
learn from the brilliant worm. This invention was the
reason that the Silk Road got its name. 6,000 years later
we are still using silk all around the world.
Pyramids: 2470 BC
While there are hundreds of theories about who or what
actually constructed the Egyptian pyramids, until an
extraterrestrial force is proven to have played a part,
one would assume they were man made. And one theory
that makes sense is that they were designed after
mountains.
Myths and Legends:

The wonders of the earth have always captured our

imagination. One myth that captures our wonder of the
earth is the story of Daedalus and Icarus, father and
son respectively. Imprisoned on the island of Crete for a
crime against his nephew, Thalus, Daedalus was
instructed by King Minos to build a labyrinth to contain
the Minotaur. This story ends with Daedalus inventing
bird wings made of feather
and wax to fly out of the labyrinth and out of Crete.
However Icarus, his son, flies against his father’s advice,
too close to the sun and his wings melt and he falls to his
death. Daedalus was regarded as a great inventon.

Why teach biomimicry?

Learning not just to identify different trees, or that they are used
as building material and fuel, but how they are an amazing
technology that stores energy from the sun, moves gallons of
water a day without pumps, creates materials out of carbon in
the air, and provides countless ecosystem services. When we
learn to see this kind of technology in nature, our eyes are
opened to new possibilities for our own designs. This is the
power of biomimicry education at any age.
Biomimicry today is not just influencing design, it’s also
revolutionizing education – offering a teachers a compelling
way to teach biology, STEM subjects, creative problem-solving,
and systems thinking. Biomimicry in education can provide:
 A compelling way to present science, technology,
engineering, and math subjects.
 An interdisciplinary platform to connect subjects to one
another, and to the real world beyond classroom walls.
 A tool to enhance creativity and problem-solving skills
through design and project-based activities.
  A new way for young people to view and value the natural
world; to see nature not just as something to learn about,
but as something to learn from.
 A unique and powerful way to think and learn about
sustainability.

Some examples of Biomimicry:

 VELCRO:
George de Mestral was inspired to invent Velcro after noticing
how easy it was for burrs to stick to his dog’s hair. Upon
studying them under a microscope, he noticed the simple design
of tiny hooks at the end of the burr’s spines. These were able to
catch anything with a loop, such as fur and fabric, and he went
on to replicate this synthetically. His two-part Velcro fastening
system uses a strip of loosely looping nylon opposite a strip of
tiny hooks, and has since been prolific in its range of
applications and popularity.


 SHARKSKIN-INSPIRED SWIMSUITS
Sharkskin-inspired swimsuits received a lot of media attention
during the 2008 Summer Olympics when the spotlight was
shining on Michael Phelps.
Seen under an electron microscope, sharkskin is made up of
countless overlapping scales called dermal denticles (or "little
skin teeth"). The denticles have grooves running down their
length in alignment with water flow. These grooves disrupt the
formation of eddies, or turbulent swirls of slower water, making
the water pass by faster. The rough shape also discourages
parasitic growth such as algae and barnacles.
Scientists have been able to replicate dermal denticles in
swimsuits (which are now banned in major competition) and the
bottom of boats. Scientists are applying the technique to create
surfaces in hospitals that resist bacteria growth — the bacteria
can't catch hold on the rough surface
  DIATOMS AS CHEAP SOLAR
CELLS:
The ability to produce low-cost, hierarchically-structured and
Nano patterned inorganic materials could potentially
revolutionize the way we fabricate photovoltaic, energy storage,
and optoelectronic devices. In nature, many organisms carry out
the hierarchical assembly of metal oxide materials through
cellular and biochemical processes that replicate periodic
micro- and nanoscale features by a bottom-up approach at
ambient conditions. For example, single-celled algae called

diatoms produce a nanostructured amorphous silica skeleton

called a frustule. The insertion of other metal oxide materials
such as titanium or germanium dioxide into
the nanostructure of the diatom frustule could potentially be
utilized to fabricate new dye-sensitized solar cells,
nanostructured battery electrodes, and electroluminescent
display devices. The exploitation of diatom Nano biotechnology
for the development of novel device concepts in these areas is
overviewed.
 UMBRELLAS : 3 CE

 The first Chinese umbrellas were invented 1700 years ago

by a man named Lu Ban, who is now revered in Chinese
history. The idea for the umbrella sprouted when Lu Ban
saw children using lotus leaves to shield themselves from
the rain. He decided to mimic the flexibility and
effectiveness of the leaf and create a product of his own.
The first umbrellas were, in fact, made of silk.
Benefits of Biomimicry as a
framework for innovation
By using the Biomimicry DesignLens as a framework, looking to
Life’s Principles and bringing ecologists and biomimics to the
table, design teams can bring new perspectives to their projects.
1. Disrupt traditional thinking:
Start by asking, “How would nature solve this challenge?”
Assuming the team has the adequate knowledge to answer, or
works with our biomimics to assist you on this - this framing
gives project teams an opportunity to explore new solutions and
brainstorm opportunities to solve challenges in new and
innovative ways. It combines the best of systems thinking and
design thinking and the ability to reverse engineer solutions
tested over millions of years.
2. Accomplish multiple objectives with a single gesture:
In nature, there are no single-purpose tools. For example, trees
provide shade with their leaves, which also generate energy, and
bark, which also help to protect and cool the moving water
beneath the surface. Imagine surfaces and systems that could
accomplish multiple functions with one simple, multi-functional
design.
3. Adapt to context and climate:
Rather than fighting against the context by using energy and
resources to hold nature at bay, nature leverages cyclic
processes and builds with readily-available materials and
energy. These elements also can make the achievement of
sustainability goals much more achievable. Understand true
sustainability from nature itself – not only creating but
continuing to nourish and heal the systems that create
conditions conducive to life. Fitting in not just on the Earth.
4. Embody resilience:
The ability to identify and apply principles and recipes for
adapting to change is key. Life on Earth is the epitome of
resilience, adapting and changing to fit its context over billions
of years. By looking to how nature confers resilience on its
systems — incorporating diversity and embodying resilience
through variation, redundancy and decentralization, integrating
rapid feedback loops — we can create human-built systems that
are inherently resilient to change and disturbances.
5. Nourish curiosity:
We are all innately curious. Biomimicry provides the
opportunity to feed our curiosity and be in wonder and awe
about nature’s genius water, energy and material-use strategies.
This perspective broadens the solution space to bring new
solutions to the table.
6. Leverage collaboration:
Rethinking our re-imagining our products, processes and
systems with nature as model, measure and mentor – cannot be
done in siloes. Everything in nature is interconnected and as we
learn to emulate nature’s genius we find the greatest
opportunities in leveraging our interconnectedness too.
Biomimicry processes are inherently interdisciplinary and
collaborative. This collaborative approach not only enables
cross-pollination and innovation, and organizational benefits
but cultivate collaborative relationships that save resources,
energy and cost for the project and the company at large.
 CONCLUSION:
biomimicry have been used and advanced even without formal
research in many areas. Accumulating creative ideas as a
foundation, mankind has accelerated the speed of development
and evolution of civilization. Such rapid industrialization has
resulted in environmental pollution and a shortage of natural
resources that is threatening the survival and future of humanity.
As a result, it has become critical and urgent to find alternative
methods to engineer materials, products, and services.
Biomimetics is potentially the best method to help us cope with
future development of civilization, environmental pollution, and
resource shortage threats.
As with many great ideas, biomimetics started from simple
imitation of natural organisms. Over time, it has evolved
through integration and combination with modern science and
engineering to help us discover new materials, ways of
combining nano/microstructures, applications, and alternative
ways of production. Biomimetic has developed from mere
imitation to a stage where we are using the structures and
functions of nature to create. Soon, we will be able to take
ourselves to the next stage, where we can apply the newly
discovered principles of biomimetic to help us create an
economy that better follows natural evolution and development.
By building technology in such a manner, we hope to create a
more stable and productive future where products are more
biodegradable and more compatible with nature, rather than
being destructive.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/what-is-
biomimicry-definition-real-life-examples.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomimetics
https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/biomimicry-a-
history
https://architecturever.com/2019/09/07/levels-of-
biomimecry-and-its-importantance-part3/
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/
ee/c0ee00306a#!divAbstract
https://medical-technology.nridigital.com/
medical_technology_mar20/
spider_silk_a_sticky_solution_to_traditional_sutures