Biomimetic bio-inspired biomorph sustainable? An attempt to classify and clarify biology-derived technical developments

Abstract

Over the last few decades, the systematic approach of knowledge transfer from biological concept generators to technical applications has received increasing attention, particularly because marketable bio-derived developments are often described as sustainable. The objective of this paper is to rationalize and refine the discussion about bio-derived developments also with respect to sustainability by taking descriptive, normative and emotional aspects into consideration. In the framework of supervised learning, a dataset of 70 biology-derived and technology-derived developments characterised by 9 different attributes together with their respective values and assigned to one of 17 classes was created. On the basis of the dataset a decision tree was generated which can be used as a straightforward classification tool to identify biology-derived and technology-derived developments. The validation of the applied learning procedure achieved an average accuracy of 90.0%. Additional extraordinary qualities of technical applications are generally discussed by means of selected biology-derived and technology-derived examples with reference to normative (contribution to sustainability) and emotional aspects (aesthetics and symbolic character). In the context of a case study from the building sector, all aspects are critically discussed.

Bio-Inspired Sustainability Assessment for Building Product Development—Concept and Case Study

“…Besides the general requirements that apply for all assessment systems, specific context-related requirements have to be considered for evaluating the assessment system. These are related to decision support systems, sustainability assessment systems and bio-inspired systems [11].…”

“…A famous example is the plant-inspired reinforced concrete developed by the French gardener Joseph Monier in 1867 [37]. Based on an inspiration, additional knowledge transfer is possible, such as the transfer of morphology leading to a biomorphic product such as the Crystal Palace, a cast-iron construction built by the gardener Sir Joseph Paxton being inspired by the ribbed leaves of water lilies [38] and the transfer of a functional principle resulting in a biomimetic product [11]. Special attention should be paid to the transfer of a function or in other words the statement that the biological role model and the technical product possess the same function as for example the self-cleaning surfaces of lotus leaves and the façade paint Lotusan ® or different functions such as the façade shading system Flectofin ® inspired by the pollination mechanisms of the bird-of-paradise flower [39,40].…”

“…In contrast, technical functions are defined in the sense of a specific process, action or task [42]. Examples for the second level of learning from evolutionary processes are the optimization algorithms based on growth rules of trees (Computer Aided Optimization) and bones (Soft Kill Option) and the evolutionary algorithms, which lead to biomimetically optimized products [11]. The third level of learning from nature is based on the principles of biological evolution such as multifunctionality, hierarchy, robustness (fault tolerance), resilience (failure tolerance), redundancy, self-X-functions, adaptation, consistency, modularity, sudden transitions (i.e., leaf drop), gradual transitions, growth, opportunism, metabolism under mild environmental conditions (enzymes) [43] and resource efficiency [8].…”

“…This is achieved through the abstraction of basic principles of biological systems on artificial systems and the deriving of a set of indicators and according weighting based on these transposed rules. While the conceptual framework has already been described, its concretization and exemplary application is subject to this work [10,11]. The framework has been put into practice by applying a structured approach to design and specify the elements of the sustainability assessment including their interrelation on a quantitative basis.…”

Patterns of Growth—Biomimetics and Architectural Design

“…On the scale of materials, for example, limited transfer in self-expanding sealants and foam structures out of polyurethane could be found. A large number of current projects in architectural design follow organic and biological morphologies [17], but many lack in depth basic scientific background and are bio-inspired rather than biomimetic in their definition [14,18].…”