Deciphering nature… : Episode 1
We, the present youth, are very well familiar with the kind of modern technology present today. Industrialization and globalization bestowed this modern world to us. Nothing seems beyond the bounds of possibility, with the broad spectrum of solutions in modern technology. We started realizing the potential of our single finger touch, which can fetch us information from any nook and corner of the world, make a robot work for us and what not. According to the data from world bank, the medical field also witnessed a commensurate growth with the average life expectancy rising from 55.35 years in 1980 to 68.56 years in 2016. The perception and impact of various diseases gradually changed over years.
There is a darker side for anything and everything, which we often forget to behold. We, human beings, who are the core reason for all these technological advancements, tend to ignore the fact that this beautiful home of ours is not just for today but for tomorrow as well. We continue to develop and improve without answering a question of great importance; do we wish to be the parasites that has infected nature? We need to establish a symbiotic relationship with our home for sustainable development.
‘Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better’, said the great scientist Albert Einstein. The nature which has evolved over millions of years through natural selection comes to our rescue. It has evolved to be a sustainable society. Taking inspiration from nature can help us in designing efficient and reliable systems. Biomimetics is based on this idea that no model can be better than nature. Biomimetics uses nature as the ultimate model, standard and advisor. This realization has led to lots of research being conducted in this domain.
Did we know biomimetics before? Did we have the realization? Yes, we did have. We have often used it without our knowledge in our daily life. Starting from the shape of blades and axes inspired from the sharp teeth of certain animals, to Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘flying bird’ inspired by birds and General Yi Sun-sin’s turtleship, a warship designed after turtle, we have been exposed to the taste of biomimetics.
Certain spectacular inventions of the past have turned habitual artifacts over time. One such inventions is the aeroplane invented by Wright brothers inspired by the wings of flying birds. Velcro, which has taken its place anywhere and everywhere today was also born out of a man wondering about Burdock seeds on his coat and dog after a walk through the woods. So, are we seeing biomimetics for the first time?
This modern era is witnessing a lot of research on biomimetics, but where do we find the application of biomimetics. One of the main research topics in biomimetics is to take inspiration from how animals control their bodies and sensory systems. This led to a growth in the number of innovations being done through the application of biomimetics in robotics and control. What else do you think interested the researchers? The vision in natural organisms, the specific characteristics of collagen-a protein found in skin and other connective tissues, features of muscles and what not. Taking inspiration from a huge lot of things around us, we, humans innovated in the fields of materials, polymers etc.
One of the recent researches in biomimetics is the Eel-Bot, a bot inspired by eel. It is being developed by Caleb Christianson, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego. It is being developed for aiding the purpose of studying underwater organisms without disturbing its ecosystem. Developed using artificial muscles, the bot is transparent and this enables it to blend with the surroundings. It passively camouflages and this precludes the organisms from getting flustered.
A recent invention inspired by the Madagascar Comet Moth (Wild silk moth) has been identified with immense potential to make a momentous impact on the field of biomedicine. On exploring the optical properties of the moth’s silk, it was found that it has exceptional capabilities to reflect sunlight and to transmit optical images and signals. Researchers of the Columbia Engineering developed a method to spin artificial fibre that mimics the properties of the silk. This has opened up a new avenue in the research of biocompatible materials for optical and image signal transmission in biomedical applications.
In one of the biomimetics research lab, the Biomimetics milli-system lab of UC Berkeley, a project on Ornithopter is being worked upon. In this robot, to achieve robust intelligence for tasks such as search and indoor navigation, the maneuverability of the ornithopter is being combined with a learning approach which makes minimal assumptions about the nature of disturbances and obstacles. Flapping flight provides the high maneuverability necessary for operation in a partially structured indoor environment.
We, human beings, ourselves being a natural organism, came up with a very interesting idea. Why not mimic ourselves? This idea of taking inspiration from human beings has given rise to many challenging research fields. Humanoid robotics is one such field, which has received significant attention during the past years and will continue to play a central role in robotics research and in many applications of the 21st century. These robots are expected to assist humans and help the man-kind during disasters. Science and technology has led to the development of advanced humanoid mechatronic systems, endowed with complex sensory motor capabilities and this has greatly aided the development in humanoid robotics. One of the biggest challenges confronting this field is to understand the information processing and the underlying mechanisms of the human brain in dealing with real world situations.
The human nervous system’s ability to learn on its own and respond, the efficient utilization of resources, coordination, reflexes and so on are some of the characteristics that can burgeon any system. This has led to large number of researches being conducted in biomimetics through neuroscience.
With breathtaking research happening around, we owe a lot to this wonderful host of ours, nature. This nature, which never ceases to inspire us, is yet to unfold many of its secrets and surprise us. Being a nature lover, I am eager to open the door to the wonderful world of natural organisms and their secrets, aren’t you? Stayed tuned for the next episode to delve into the world of neurons. Until then, enjoy the nature, question the unknowns, and understand the mysteries!
REFERENCES
https://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=sp_dyn_le00_in&hl=en&dl=en
https://engineering.columbia.edu/press-releases/comet-moth-fabric
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180426102906.htm
https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~ronf/Ornithopter/index.html
— Written by Aradhana Mohan Parvathy, member of Spider R&D
