Case Study in Biomimetic Design: Handling and Assembly of Microparts

Volume 3: 19th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology; 1st International Conference on Micro- And Nanosystem

et al. 2007

Self Cite

This work explores the representation of biological phenomena as stimuli to designers for biomimetic design. We describe a study where participants were asked to solve a micro-assembly problem given a set of biological representations of leaf abscission for inspiration. The visual aids presented to the designers are investigated, and the use of functional models of biological phenomena in particular is critiqued. The designs resulting from the study are classified and theories drawn as to possible influences of the biological representations. Observations, retrospective conversations with participants, and analogical reasoning classifications are used to determine positive qualities as well as areas for improvement in representation of the biological domain. Findings suggest that designers need an explicit list of all possible inherent biological strategies, previously extracted using function structures with objective graph grammar rules. Challenges specific to this type of study are discussed, and possible improvement of representative aids are outlined.

Section: Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous work on biomimetic design has included an application to microassembly [Shu et al 2006], which provides the content for the experiment in this study. The problem in this application is to develop a way of handling a micro-screw that overcomes the sticking effects of surface forces.…”

Section: Case Study In Microassemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

Including Functional Models of Biological Phenomena as Design Stimuli

Vakili

Chiu

Volume 3: 19th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology; 1st International Conference on Micro- And Nanosystem

et al. 2007

Self Cite

“…Collaboration with researchers with expertise in micro-and nanoengineering at the Technical University of Denmark led to the following case studies in microassembly (Shu et al, 2003(Shu et al, , 2006.…”

Section: B Microassemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A common complication involves sticking between the gripping device and the micropart, which hinders the automation of picking and releasing operations. Shu et al (2006) present the identification and use of biological analogies to solve the problem of sticking during microassembly. Selected release techniques based on DNA transcription and the abscission process in plants inspired concepts of new automated handling devices for microobjects.…”

Section: Overcoming Sticking In Microassemblymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Using Biological Analogies for Engineering Problem Solving and Design

2011

PCEEA

Self Cite

A Natural Language Approach to Biomimetic Design

Biologically Inspired Design

Cheong

2013

Self Cite

Identifying relevant analogies from biology is a significant challenge for both designers who are interested in applying biological analogies for design and researchers who are developing general methods to support biomimetic design. This chapter discusses how a natural language approach facilitates the identification of biological analogies. We review methods developed to locate useful biological knowledge in natural language format, for example books and papers, as well as apply the identified knowledge to design solutions. We then discuss how these methods can bridge the gap between the increasing amounts of available information in biology and the goal of capturing computational design knowledge for biomimetic design. Finally, application examples of the natural language approach demonstrate that this approach can identify nonobvious analogies that are based on the transfer of abstract strategies, in addition to the direct mimicries that are used in most other biologically inspired design solutions.