Introduction to Biomimicry
What Is Biomimicry?
The term biomimicry stems from the Greek words bios (meaning life) and mimesis (referring to imitation).
Merriam-Webster (Biomimicry Definition & Meaning — Merriam-Webster) defines biomimicry as “the imitation of natural biological designs or processes in engineering or invention.”
Essentially, biomimicry involves studying and emulating the designs and processes that already exist in the natural world.
Examples
You may already be familiar with several examples of biomimicry. For instance:
- Gustave Eiffel based the structural design for his namesake tower on the femur, or thighbone
- the Wright brothers studied birds during their development of the airplane
- George de Mestral’s invention of the Velcro fastener was modeled after burrs
- Eiji Nakatsu incorporated the shape of the kingfisher’s beak in the design of the Shinkansen bullet train
Why It Matters
When it comes to solving problems, people have a less than ideal track record. Human solutions are rarely as efficient as those found in nature. But as the Biomimicry Institute puts it, there is much benefit to copying the solutions we observe in nature to tackle these problems.
Biomimicry gets us to sustainable solutions, faster.
— Biomimicry Institute
So the next time you’re presented with a challenge, why not shift your focus to the natural world? More than a few problems can be solved by imitating the amazing way in which things work in nature.