Mechanical Intelligence (MI): A Bioinspired Concept for Transforming Engineering Design

Abstract

Despite significant scientific advances in the past decades, most structures around us are static and ironically outdated from a technological perspective. Static structures have limited efficiency and durability and typically perform only a single task. Adaptive structures, in contrast, adjust to different conditions, tasks, and functions. They not only offer multi-functionality but also enhanced efficiency and durability. Despite their obvious advantages over conventional structures, adaptive structures have only been limitedly used in everyday life applications. This is because adaptive structures often require sophisticated sensing, feedback, and controls, which make them costly, heavy, and complicated. To overcome this problem, here the concept of Mechanical Intelligence (MI) is introduced to promote the development of engineering systems that adapt to circumstances in a passive-automatic way. MI will offer a new paradigm for designing structural components with superior capabilities. As adaptability has been rewarded throughout evolution, nature provides one of the richest sources of inspiration for developing adaptive structures. MI explores nature-inspired mechanisms for automatic adaptability and translates them into a new generation of mechanically intelligent components. MI structures, presenting widely accessible bioinspired solutions for adaptability, will facilitate more inclusive and sustainable industrial development, reflective of Goal 9 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."The wings are in effect "smart" aerofoils, combining remote and automatic shape control in ways which seem to occur nowhere else in nature or in technology" -Robin J Wootton [1] Imagine a dynamic world, where structures change their shape and properties to adapt to different needs; buildings that expand to allow more people in, bridges that morph to open

Double-spiral: a bioinspired pre-programmable compliant joint with multiple degrees of freedom

“…The passive-automatic control, which is achieved through the design strategies alone, makes the double-spiral an ideal structure for robotic applications, for example to develop soft extensible robots or adjustable hinges. Our double-spiral design represents a striking example of mechanical intelligence, recently introduced by the authors [43], which aims to develop bioinspired solutions to design a new generation of engineering components that can automatically respond to applied loads without requiring complicated actuations.…”

Dragonfly‐Inspired Wing Design Enabled by Machine Learning and Maxwell's Reciprocal Diagrams

“…Advances in manufacturing have enabled the fabrication of advanced materials and structures with complex architecture from nanoscale macroscale. [46,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63]7] However, obtaining a very stiff design for the airplane wing is a crucial challenge. We cannot guarantee to achieve the global-optimum point in the cellular core of the wing design.…”

Complexity biomechanics: a case study of dragonfly wing design from constituting composite material to higher structural levels

“…Taken together, the narrative reveals the emergence of ‘collective intelligence’ within the dragonfly flapping system, spanning multiple levels of organization, from a material level and small-scale architecture to large-scale structural design elements. This collective intelligence empowers the insect to continually adapt to novel and unforeseen loading scenarios, serving as a remarkable example of mechanical intelligence (MI) in nature [53], where a biological system, here the insect flapping system, responds to environmental stimuli mostly in a passive-automatic way, though some active responses are also involved.…”

“…royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsfs Interface Focus 14: 20230060 example of mechanical intelligence (MI) in nature [53], where a biological system, here the insect flapping system, responds to environmental stimuli mostly in a passive-automatic way, though some active responses are also involved.…”