Introducing students to bio-inspiration and biomimetic design: a workshop experience

In recent years, bio-inspired approach to design has gained considerable interest between designers, engineers and end-users. However, there are difficulties in introducing bio-inspiration concepts in the university curriculum in that they involve multi-disciplinary work, which can only possibly be successfully delivered by a team with integrated competencies. The aim of this work is summarising the results of the first workshop on bio-inspired design carried out at the Hybrid Design Lab of Seconda Università di Napoli, involving Year 2 students of the BSc in Industrial Design. The common theme proposed for their projects was “Bio-inspired design of sport”. Ideally, a sport item would need to respond to a number of exigencies, including safety, comfort, zero-energy balance and/or use of renewable energy sources, multi-functionality. The common aim of the projects was investigating in which cases bio-inspiration can assist in the fulfilment of the above exigencies. The students were asked to present examples from nature and, via an abstraction process, to apply them to the design of sport items. Finally, they were required to clarify the nature and the extent of bio-inspiration in their projects. Some of the projects, which were considered more interesting and realisable, are reported and briefly commented, especially on the nature, extent and appropriateness of their bio-inspiration. A test for feedback has been given to the students, whose scope, structure and general outcome is also discussed.

[1]  Craig Tovey,et al.  From honeybees to Internet servers: biomimicry for distributed management of Internet hosting centers , 2007, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[2]  H. Roder,et al.  Early events in protein folding explored by rapid mixing methods. , 2006, Chemical reviews.

[3]  Elvin Karana,et al.  Material considerations in product design: A survey on crucial material aspects used by product designers , 2007 .

[4]  Kathryn Walsh,et al.  Manufacturing a green service: engaging the TRIZ model of innovation , 2001 .

[5]  T. Kuhn.  The structure of scientific revolutions, 3rd ed. , 1996 .

[6]  Philip Ball,et al.  Life's lessons in design , 2001, Nature.

[7]  J. Vincent,et al.  Systematic technology transfer from biology to engineering , 2002, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[8]  J. Vincent,et al.  Biomimetics: its practice and theory , 2006, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[9]  T. Tregenza,et al.  Dynamic mimicry in an Indo–Malayan octopus , 2001, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[10]  Kevin Hapeshi,et al.  An Innovative Methodology of Product Design from Nature , 2008 .

[11]  T. Kuhn,et al.  The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , 1963 .

[12]  Richard Weinkamer,et al.  Nature’s hierarchical materials , 2007 .

[13]  Richard H. C. Bonser,et al.  Technology trajectories, innovation, and the growth of biomimetics , 2007 .

[14]  E. B. Magrab,et al.  Training mechanical engineering students to utilize biological inspiration during product development , 2007, Bioinspiration & biomimetics.

[15]  Francois Barthelat,et al.  Biomimetics for next generation materials , 2007, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[16]  David Cebon,et al.  Materials Selection in Mechanical Design , 1992 .

[17]  H. S. Patil,et al.  Study of the geometry and folding pattern of leaves of Mimosa pudica , 2007 .

[18]  George Jeronimidis.  Biodynamics (Natural dynamic systems, material behaviour and adaptation in architecture and engineering) , 2004 .

[19]  N. Rizzo,et al.  Characterization of the structure and composition of gecko adhesive setae , 2006, Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

[20]  Bharat Bhushan,et al.  Superhydrophobic surfaces and emerging applications: Non-adhesion, energy, green engineering , 2009 .

[21]  J F V Vincent,et al.  Biomimetics — a review , 2009, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part H, Journal of engineering in medicine.