Bionics or biologically inspired engineering is the application of biological methods and systems found in

nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

to the study and design of

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

systems and modern

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. The word ''bionic'', coined by Jack E. Steele in August 1958, is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

from

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

which was popularized by the 1970s U.S. television series '' The Six Million Dollar Man'' and ''

The Bionic Woman ''The Bionic Woman'' is an American science fiction film, science fiction Action-adventure fiction, action-adventure television series created by Kenneth Johnson (producer), Kenneth Johnson based on the 1972 novel Cyborg (novel), ''Cyborg'' by ...

'', both based on the novel ''

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Martin Caidin. All three stories feature humans given various superhuman powers by their

electromechanical Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...

implants. According to proponents of bionic technology, the transfer of technology between lifeforms and manufactured objects is desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces living organisms—fauna and flora—to become optimized and efficient. For example, dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) was inspired by the hydrophobic properties of the lotus flower plant (the lotus effect). The term " biomimetic" is preferred for references to chemical reactions, such as reactions that, in nature, involve biological macromolecules (e.g., enzymes or nucleic acids) whose chemistry can be replicated ''in vitro'' using much smaller molecules. Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins or

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, and medical

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound with frequency, frequencies greater than 20 Hertz, kilohertz. This frequency is the approximate upper audible hearing range, limit of human hearing in healthy young adults. The physical principles of acoustic waves apply ...

imaging imitating

animal echolocation Echolocation, also called bio sonar, is a biological active sonar used by several animal groups, both in the air and underwater. Echolocating animals emit calls and listen to the Echo (phenomenon) , echoes of those calls that return from various ...

. In the field of

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, the study of bionics has produced artificial neurons,

artificial neural networks In machine learning, a neural network (also artificial neural network or neural net, abbreviated ANN or NN) is a computational model inspired by the structure and functions of biological neural networks. A neural network consists of connected ...

, and swarm intelligence. Bionics also influenced

Evolutionary computation Evolutionary computation from computer science is a family of algorithms for global optimization inspired by biological evolution, and the subfield of artificial intelligence and soft computing studying these algorithms. In technical terms ...

but took the idea further by simulating evolution

in silico In biology and other experimental sciences, an ''in silico'' experiment is one performed on a computer or via computer simulation software. The phrase is pseudo-Latin for 'in silicon' (correct ), referring to silicon in computer chips. It was c ...

and producing optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature. A 2006 research article estimated that "at present there is only a 12% overlap between

and technology in terms of the mechanisms used".

History

The name "biomimetics" was coined by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s. The term "bionics" was later introduced by Jack E. Steele in August 1958 while working at the ''Aeronautics Division House'' at

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. However, terms like biomimicry or biomimetics are preferred in order to avoid confusion with the medical term "bionics." Coincidentally, Martin Caidin used the word for his 1972 novel ''

Cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.The Six Million Dollar Man''. Caidin was a long-time aviation industry writer before turning to fiction full-time.

Methods

The study of bionics often emphasizes implementing a function found in nature rather than imitating biological structures. For example, in computer science,

cybernetics Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

models the feedback and control mechanisms that are inherent in intelligent behavior, while

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

models the intelligent function regardless of the particular way it can be achieved. The conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies is a form of applied

case-based reasoning Case-based reasoning (CBR), broadly construed, is the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems. In everyday life, an auto mechanic who fixes an engine by recalling another car that exhibited similar sympto ...

, treating nature itself as a database of solutions that already work. Proponents argue that the selective pressure placed on all natural life forms minimizes and removes failures. Although almost all

could be said to be a form of biomimicry, the modern origins of this field are usually attributed to Buckminster Fuller and its later codification as a house or field of study to

Janine Benyus Janine M. Benyus (born 1958) is an American natural sciences writer, innovation consultant, and author. After writing books on wildlife and animal behavior, she coined the term Biomimicry to describe intentional problem-solving design inspired ...

. There are generally three biological levels in the fauna or flora after which technology can be modeled: *Mimicking natural methods of manufacture *Imitating mechanisms found in nature (e.g.

velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...

) *Studying organizational principles from the social behavior of organisms, such as the flocking behavior of birds, optimization of ant foraging and bee foraging, and the swarm intelligence (SI)-based behavior of a school of fish.

Examples

* In

robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...

, bionics and biomimetics are used to apply the way animals move to the design of robots. BionicKangaroo was based on the movements and physiology of kangaroos. *

Velcro Velcro IP Holdings LLC, trading as Velcro Companies and commonly referred to as Velcro (pronounced ), is a British privately held company, founded by Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral in the 1950s. It is the original manufacturer of ho ...

is the most famous example of biomimetics. In 1948, the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

engineer George de Mestral was cleaning his dog of burrs picked up on a walk when he realized how the hooks of the burrs clung to the fur. *The horn-shaped, saw-tooth design for

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

blades used at the turn of the 19th century to cut down trees when it was still done by hand was modeled after observations of a wood-burrowing

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

. The blades were significantly more efficient and thus revolutionized the timber industry. * Cat's eye reflectors were invented by Percy Shaw in 1935 after studying the mechanism of cat eyes. He had found that cats had a system of reflecting cells, known as

tapetum lucidum The ; ; : tapeta lucida) is a layer of tissue in the eye of many vertebrates and some other animals. Lying immediately behind the retina, it is a retroreflector. It Reflection (physics), reflects visible light back through the retina, increas ...

, which was capable of reflecting the tiniest bit of light. *

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

's flying machines and ships are early examples of drawing from nature in engineering. * Resilin is a replacement for rubber that has been created by studying the material also found in arthropods. *Julian Vincent drew from the study of pinecones when he developed in 2004 "smart" clothing that adapts to changing temperatures. "I wanted a nonliving

system A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, str ...

which would respond to changes in moisture by changing shape," he said. "There are several such systems in plants, but most are very small—the pinecone is the largest and therefore the easiest to work on." Pinecones respond to higher humidity by opening their scales (to disperse their seeds). The "smart" fabric does the same thing, opening up when the wearer is warm and sweating and shutting tight when cold. *"Morphing aircraft wings" that change shape according to the speed and duration of flight were designed in 2004 by biomimetic scientists from

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. The morphing wings were inspired by different bird species that have differently shaped wings according to the speed at which they fly. In order to change the shape and underlying structure of the aircraft wings, the researchers needed to make the overlying skin also be able to change, which their design does by covering the wings with fish-inspired scales that could slide over each other. In some respects this is a refinement of the swing-wing design. *Some paints and roof tiles have been engineered to be self-cleaning by copying the mechanism from the Nelumbo lotus. *

Cholesteric liquid crystal Cholesteric liquid crystals (ChLCs), also known as chiral nematic liquid crystals, are a Supramolecular chemistry, supramolecular assembly and a subclass of liquid crystal characterized by their chirality. Contrary to achiral liquid crystals, the c ...

s (CLCs) are the thin-film material often used to fabricate fish tank thermometers or mood rings that change color with temperature changes. They change color because their molecules are arranged in a helical or

chiral Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is dist ...

arrangement and with temperature the pitch of that helical structure changes, reflecting different

wavelength In physics and mathematics, wavelength or spatial period of a wave or periodic function is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. In other words, it is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same ''phase (waves ...

s of light. Chiral Photonics, Inc. has abstracted the self-assembled structure of the organic CLCs to produce analogous optical devices using tiny lengths of inorganic, twisted glass fiber. * Nanostructures and physical mechanisms that produce the shining color of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

wings were reproduced

by Greg Parker, professor of Electronics and Computer Science at the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, and research student Luca Plattner in the field of

photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in the form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. E ...

, which is

using

photons A photon () is an elementary particle that is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, including electromagnetic radiation such as light and radio waves, and the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. Photons are massless particles that ...

as the information carrier instead of

electrons The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

. * The wing structure of the blue morpho butterfly was studied and the way it reflects light was mimicked to create an

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, a radio receiver, and a transmitter. When tri ...

tag that can be read through water and on metal. * The wing structure of butterflies has also inspired the creation of new nanosensors to detect explosives. * Neuromorphic chips and silicon retinae have wiring that is modeled after real neural networks. * Techno Ecosystems or 'Eco Cyborg' systems involve the coupling of natural ecological processes to technological ones which mimic ecological functions. This results in the creation of a self-regulating hybrid system. Research into this field was initiated by Howard T. Odum, who perceived the structure and

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

dynamics of ecosystems as being analogous to energy flow between components of an electrical circuit. * Medical adhesives involving glue and tiny nano-hairs are being developed based on the physical structures found in the feet of geckos. *

Computer viruses A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and inserting its own code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas are then said to be "infected" wit ...

also show similarities with biological viruses, attacking program-oriented information towards self-reproduction and dissemination. * The cooling system of the Eastgate Centre building in

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

was modeled after a termite mound to achieve very efficient passive cooling. * Adhesive which allows

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, whic ...

to stick to rocks, piers, and boat hulls inspired bioadhesive gel for

blood vessels Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the tissues of a body. They also take waste an ...

. *The field of bionics has inspired new aircraft designs which offer greater agility along with other advantages. This has been described by Geoff Spedding, Måns Rosén, and Anders Hedenström in an article in ''

Journal of Experimental Biology ''Journal of Experimental Biology'' (formerly ''The British Journal of Experimental Biology)'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of comparative physiology and integrative biology. It is published by The Company of Biologists. Th ...

''. Similar statements were also made by John Videler and Eize Stamhuis in their book ''Avian Flight,'' and in the article they present in ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'' about LEVs. This research in bionics may also be used to create more efficient helicopters or miniature UAVs, as stated by Bret Tobalske in an article in ''Science'' about

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

as well as ESA have been working in a similar direction and created the Robofly (a miniature UAV) and the Entomopter (a UAV which can walk, crawl and fly). *A bio-inspired mechanical device can generate plasma in water via cavitation using the morphological accurate snapping shrimp claw. This was described in detail by Xin Tang and David Staack in an article published in ''

Science Advances ''Science Advances'' is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary open-access scientific journal established in early 2015 and published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The journal's scope includes all areas of science. Hist ...

''.

Specific uses of the term

In medicine

Bionics refers to the flow of concepts from

and vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word. In medicine, bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. The German equivalent of bionics, ''Bionik'', always adheres to the broader meaning, in that it tries to develop engineering solutions from biological models. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological solutions will usually be optimized by

evolutionary Evolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, resulting in certa ...

forces. While the technologies that make bionic implants possible are developing gradually, a few successful bionic devices already exist, a well known one being the Australian-invented multi-channel

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

(bionic ear), a device for

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

people. Since the bionic ear, many bionic devices have emerged and work is progressing on bionics solutions for other sensory disorders (e.g. vision and balance). Bionic research has recently provided treatments for medical problems such as neurological and psychiatric conditions, for example

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

and

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

. In 1997,

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n researcher Alvaro Rios Poveda developed an upper limb and hand

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...

with

sensory feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a Signal chain (signal processing chain), chain of Causality, cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself ...

. This technology allows amputee patients to handle prosthetic hand systems in a more natural way. By 2004 fully functional

artificial heart An artificial heart is a artificial organ, device that replaces the human heart, heart. Artificial hearts are typically used as a bridge to heart transplantation, but ongoing research aims to develop a device that could permanently replace the ...

s were developed. Significant progress is expected with the advent of

nanotechnology Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers (nm). At this scale, commonly known as the nanoscale, surface area and quantum mechanical effects become important in describing propertie ...

. A well-known example of a proposed nanodevice is a respirocyte, an artificial red cell designed (though not yet built) by Robert Freitas. During his eight years in the Department of Bioengineering at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, Kwabena Boahen developed a

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

retina The retina (; or retinas) is the innermost, photosensitivity, light-sensitive layer of tissue (biology), tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some Mollusca, molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focus (optics), focused two-dimensional ...

that was able to process images in the same manner as a living retina. He confirmed the results by comparing the electrical signals from his silicon retina to the electrical signals produced by a

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All t ...

eye while the two retinas were looking at the same image. On July 21, 2015, the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's medical correspondent Fergus Walsh reported, "surgeons in Manchester have performed the first bionic eye implant in a patient with the most common cause of sight loss in the developed world. Ray Flynn, 80, has dry age-related

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred vision, blurred or vision loss, no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no sym ...

which has led to the total loss of his central vision. He is using a retinal implant that converts video images from a miniature video camera worn on his glasses. He can now make out the direction of white lines on a computer screen using the retinal implant." The implant, known as the Argus II and manufactured in the US by the company Second Sight Medical Products, had been used previously in patients who were blind as the result of the rare inherited degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. In 2016, Tilly Lockey (born October 7, 2005) was fitted with a pair of bionic "Hero Arms" manufactured by OpenBionics, a UK bionics enterprise. The Hero Arm is a lightweight myoelectric prosthesis for below-elbow amputee adults and children aged eight and above. Tilly Lockey, who at 15 months had both her arms amputated after being diagnosed with meningococcal sepsis strain B, describes the Hero Arms as “really realistic, to the point where it was quite creepy how realistic they were.” On February 17, 2020, Darren Fuller, a military veteran, became the first person to receive a bionic arm under a public healthcare system. Fuller lost the lower section of his right arm while serving term in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

during an incident that involved mortar ammunition in 2008.

Other uses

Business biomimetics is the latest development in the application of biomimetics. Specifically it applies principles and practice from biological systems to business strategy, process, organization design, and strategic thinking. It has been successfully used by a range of industries in FMCG, defense, central government, packaging, and business services. Based on the work by Phil Richardson at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath
. Bath.ac.uk (21 February 2009). Retrieved on 23 April 2011. the approach was launched at the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in May 2009. Generally, biometrics is used as a creativity technique that studies

biological Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

prototypes to get ideas for engineering solutions. In chemistry, a biomimetic synthesis is a

chemical synthesis Chemical synthesis (chemical combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In modern laboratory uses ...

inspired by

biochemical Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, ...

processes. Another, more recent meaning of the term bionics refers to merging organism and machine. This approach results in a hybrid system combining biological and engineering parts, which can also be referred as a cybernetic organism (

cyborg A cyborg (, a portmanteau of ''cybernetics, cybernetic'' and ''organism'') is a being with both Organic matter, organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.Kevin Warwick's implant experiments bringing about

input via his own nervous system.

References

Sources

* ''Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature''. 1997.

. * ''Biomimicry for Optimization, Control, and Automation'', Springer-Verlag, London, 2005, Kevin M. Passino
"Ideas Stolen Right from Nature"
(''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'') * ''Bionics and Engineering: The Relevance of Biology to Engineering, presented at Society of Women Engineers Convention'', Seattle, WA, 1983, Jill E. Steele * ''Bionics: Nature as a Model''. 1993. PRO FUTURA Verlag GmbH, München, Umweltstiftung WWF Deutschland *Lipov A.N. "At the origins of modern bionics. Bio-morphological formation in an artificial environment" ''Polygnosis''. No. 1–2. 2010. Ch. 1–2. pp. 126–136. *Lipov A.N. "At the origins of modern bionics. Bio-morphological formation in an artificial environment." ''Polygnosis''. No. 3. 2010. Part 3. pр. 80–91.

External links

Bionics Queensland

Centre for Nature Inspired Engineering at UCL (University College London)

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering

The Biomimicry Institute

Center for Biologically Inspired Design

Biologically Inspired Design group at the Design and Intelligence Lab, Georgia Tech

Center for Biologically Inspired Materials & Material Systems

Biologically Inspired Product Development at the University of Maryland

The Biologically Inspired Materials Institute

Center for Biologically Inspired Robotics Research at Case Western Reserve University

Bio Inspired Engineering at the Applied University Kufstein, Austria

Laboratory for Nature Inspired Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University
{{Authority control 1950s neologisms Articles containing video clips Biological engineering Biotechnology Bioinspiration