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Biologically Inspired Design

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Biologically Inspired Design (BID):

the study of biological systems and functions that have the potential to be adapted for use to solve challenges faced by humans.

(Sanne et al., 2019)

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BID: How does it work?

Kingfisher dives into water without making a splash

Long, pointed wedge shaped beak and head limits noise production

Redesign bullet train nose to be like the long pointed beak of the Kingfisher

If no, continue searching. If yes move on.

How does BID work?

First, you perform a biological search in nature for organisms or plants that perform functions you need your design solution to have. *click to reveal Kingfisher example* For the Kingfisher bullet train example, the researchers noticed the kingfisher dives into the water without making a splash.

Then, you work to understand the how the structures of the biology work to achieve the mechanism. *click to reveal Kingfisher example* In the Kingfisher example, the researchers determined that it was the long, pointed, wedge-shaped beak that limited noise production and splash creation when the kingfisher dove into the water.

After understanding the biological mechanism, you determine whether or not the biology you have chosen is relevant to your problem. *click to reveal example* If the biology is relevant to your problem, you move on to design integration. If not, you return to biological search.

The last step is to integrate the biology into your design. *click to reveal Kingfisher example* The researchers redesigned the bullet train nose to be like the long pointed beak of the Kingfisher.

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How is biologically inspired design related to the engineering design process?

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First, let’s talk about the engineering design process (EDP).

The EDP is a systematic way of defining and solving problems.

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Let’s look closer at Ideate:

When ideating, we want to come up with as many solution ideas as possible
There are a variety of tools that can help us come up with ideas
Sketching is one of these tools
Sketching can also help you communicate your ideas to others

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These are the steps of Ideation:

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Where does BID fit within the EDP?

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Biologically Inspired Design is Ideation

BID is a tool that can help us solve difficult problems or do not have easily identified solutions.
BID translates knowledge obtained from the natural world into new innovations.