Biomimicry

Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a relatively new science that studies nature, its models, systems, processes and elements and then imitates or takes creative inspiration from them to solve human problems sustainably.

In her 1997 book, "Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature" (ISBN 0-06-053322-6), author Janine M. Benyus introduces biomimicry, presents examples, and explains why the field is important now. She writes, "Our planet-mates (plants, animals and microbes) have been patiently perfecting their wares for more than 3.8 billion years ... turning rock and sea into a life-friendly home. What better models could there be?"

The book lists numerous examples of people who are studying nature's achievements, including photosynthesis, natural selection, and self-sustaining ecosystems, among others. Benyus then explains how those researchers use the inspirations found in nature to emulate "life's genius" for the purpose of improving manufacturing processes, creating new medicines, changing the way people grow food, or harnessing energy.

Examples
One example is the attempt to learn from and emulate the incredible ability of termites to maintain virtually constant temperature and humidity in their Sub-Saharan Africa homes despite an outside temperature variation from 3 °C to 42 °C (35 °F at night to 104 °F during the day.) Project TERMES (Termite Emulation of Regulatory Mound Environments by Simulation) scanned a termite mound, created 3-D images of the mound structure and provided the first ever glimpse of construction that may likely change the way we build our own buildings. The Eastgate Centre, a mid-rise office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe, (highlighted in this Biomimicry Institute case-study) stays cool without air conditioning and uses only 10% of the energy of a conventional building its size.

Another example is modeling the echolocation of bats in darkness and adapting that functionality into a cane for the visually impaired. Research performed at the University of Leeds (in the UK) led to the UltraCane, a product manufactured, marketed and sold by Sound Foresight Ltd.