Innovation inspired by nature: capabilities, potentials, and challenges

Yoseph Bar-Cohen

doi:10.1117/12.928048

11 October 2012 Innovation inspired by nature: capabilities, potentials, and challenges

Yoseph Bar-Cohen

Proceedings Volume 8482, Photonic Innovations and Solutions for Complex Environments and Systems (PISCES); 848208 (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.928048
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2012, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Through evolution, nature came up with many effective solutions to its challenges and continually improving them. By mimicking, coping and being inspired, humans have been using Nature's solutions to address their own challenges. In recent years, the implementation of nature's capabilities has intensified with our growing understanding of the various biological and nastic mechanisms and processes. Successes include even the making of humanlike robots that perform such lifelike tasks as walking, talking, making eye-contact, interpreting speech and facial expressions, as well as many other humanlike functions. Generally, once humans are able to implement a function then, thru rapid advances in technology, capabilities are developed that can significantly exceed the original source of inspiration in Nature. Examples include flight where there is no species that can fly as high, carry so much mass, has so large dimensions and fly so fast, and operate at as such extreme conditions as our aircraft and other aerospace systems. However, using the capabilities of today's technology, there are many challenges that are not feasible to address in mimicking characteristics of species and plants. In this manuscript, state-of-the-art of biomimetic capabilities, potentials and challenges are reviewed.

Citation Download Citation

Yoseph Bar-Cohen "Innovation inspired by nature: capabilities, potentials, and challenges", Proc. SPIE 8482, Photonic Innovations and Solutions for Complex Environments and Systems (PISCES), 848208 (11 October 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.928048

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