Spider silk is known for its extraordinary material properties, being both very strong and extensible. Even though the fibers outperform many synthetic and natural materials, it is impractical to collect industrial amounts of silk from spiders due to their cannibalistic and venomous nature; they cannot be farmed like the commercial silk worm Bombyx mori. Thus, scientists have turned to molecular and engineering techniques to replicate the spider's silk and spinning apparatus. In the current literature there is no detailed protocol on the production of consistent synthetic fibers. To accomplish this, the fibroins and natural spinning apparatus were taken apart and analyzed in order to develop a protocol that biomimics the spider's system. The laboratory procedure, using the natural process as an example, was simplified to: protein production, purification, concentration, fiber spinning, and lastly post spin draw. Large quantities of truncated MaSp I spidroin (spider fibroin) was purified from E. coli and successfully spun into fibers using customized spinning, spooling, and stretching apparatuses. The final fiber products displayed mechanical properties that were comparable to other reported synthetic fibers, but more importantly also displayed low experimental variability between samples. The protocol developed in this study can be further used to characterize other spidroins and silk proteins, and can be further advanced to produce even better fibers with enhanced properties.

From the beginning of the history of flight, inspiration has been drawn from nature. Evolution has spent millions of years optimizing creatures that rely on flight as their means of locomotion. Today, aerial vehicles are very different to those from the time of the Wright brothers. One kind of vehicle that stands to benefit in mimicking nature is the drone, particularly smaller drones. Commonly used today by militaries, industry and civilians, drones are increasingly affordable while also decreasing in size thanks to advancements in electronics and manufacturing methods. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how pitching and rolling motions interact with a tandem wing. The effect of a tandem wing is mostly apparent in the hind wing, as the fore wing moves through the fluid it energizes the flow and creates a wake region. The energy put into the fluid is otherwise lost unless captured by the hind wing. The damselfly was essential inspiration in the development of this experiment, current research shows that higher levels of efficiency can be achieved by mimicking the creature’s anatomy. A pitching and plunging motion by the hindwing seeks to recreate the flapping motion used by the damselfly. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was carried out on both wings to visualize the flow and develop an idea of the flow physics at work. Early results show the combined pitching and plunging motion are an effective means of vortex generation. These vortices create a pressure gradient across the hindwing, contributing to lift generation. This is particularly of interest in the take-off phase of flight. The flapping motion has the dual purpose of producing lift and thrust, this is seen as it shifts between downstroke and upstroke of the plunging cycle

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Denna uppsats är ett examensarbete på 22,5 Hp, gjort av Natalie Pålsson, student på produktdesignprogrammet på Malmö Högskola, under våren 2013.Projektet handlade om att undersöka möjligheten till att skapa en ljuskälla utan elektricitet. Syftet med projektet var att uppmärksamma problematiken av den höga energiförbrukningen av ljuskällorna i belysning. Projektet hade under hela dess gång ett biomimetiskt förhållningssätt och under förstudien gjordes en grundlig studie av ämnet biomimetik. Biomimetik innebär att man som designer lär och inspireras av naturen i sin produktutveckling. Förstudien behandlade även ämnet naturens ljus och då framför allt bioluminiscens som valdes som ljuskälla i armaturen. Utifrån en intervju med Lars Olof Björn, pensionerad professor i biologi, så togs ett beslut att använda levande organismer i armaturen eftersom bioluminiscens är svårt att framställa på kemisk väg. Under studierna av bioluminiscens så framkom det att det finns en bioluminiscent alg, dinoflagellat som skulle vara lämplig att använda som ljuskälla. Dinoflagellater avger ett bioluminiscent ljus då de sätts i rörelse, vilket användes som en sorts strömbrytare i produkten. Resultatet blev lyktan Lumi oh! En lykta, utformad som ett timglas som ser ut som två droppar som i sitt möte bildar en virvel. När lyktan vänds upp och ner, virvlar algerna ner och börjar då lysa, vilket de gör så länge de är satta i rörelse.Projektets mål var att det skulle resultera i ett produktkoncept, därför presenteras slutresultatet i form av en utseendemodell. / This diploma work (22,5 ECTS) at bachelor level is made by Natalie Pålsson, student at the Product design program at Malmö University, in the spring of 2013. The project explored the possibility of creating light without electricity. The purpose of the project was to highlight the problem of the high energy consumption of our current lightsourses. The project had a biomimetic approach and a thourough study of the subject was made. Biomimicry means that designers learn and get inspired by nature in their development of products. A study about natural light was made, especially bioluminescence, since that was the choice of lightsource. Based on an interview with Lars Olof Björn, a retired proffessor in Biology, it was decided to use living organisms in the lantern, since bioluminescence is difficult to produce chemically. The research regarding bioluminescence showed that there is a bioluminescent algae, called dinoflagellate, that would be suitable for use as a light source. Dinoflagellates emit a bioluminescent light when they are put in motion, which was used as a sort of on and off switch in the product. The project resulted in the lantern Lumi oh! A lantern, shaped like an hour glass which looks like two drops, that forms a swirl where they meet. When the lantern is turned upside down, the alge swirls down and starts to glow, for as long as they are set in motion. The result of the project was to be illustrated as a product concept and is presented as a prototype that shows the form but not the function.

Biologically inspired design (BID) is a widespread and growing movement in modern design, pulled in part by the need for environmentally sustainable design and pushed partly by rapid advances in biology and the desire for creativity and innovation in design. Yet, our current understanding of cognition in BID is limited and at present there are few computational methods or tools available for supporting its practice. In this dissertation, I develop a cognitive model of BID, build computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, and describe results from deploying the methods and the tools in a Georgia Tech BID class. One key and novel finding in my cognitive study of BID is the surprisingly large degree to which biological analogues influence problem formulation and understanding in addition to generation of design solutions. I call the process by which a biological analogue influences the evolution of the problem formulation analogical problem evolution. I use the method of grounded theory to develop a knowledge schema called SR.BID (for structured representations for biologically inspired design) for representing design problem formulations. I show through case study analysis that SR.BID provides a useful analytic framework for understanding the two-way interaction between problems and solutions. I then develop two tools based on the SR.BID schema to scaffold the processes of problem formulation and analogue evaluation in BID. I deployed the two tools, the four-box method of problem specification and the T-chart method of analogical evaluation, in a Georgia Tech BID class. I show that with minimal training, the four-box method was used by students to complete design problem specifications in 2011 and 2012 with 75% of students achieving better than 80% accuracy. Finally I describe a web-based application for interactively supporting BID practice including problem formulation and analogue evaluation. Thus, my dissertation develops a cognitive model of analogical problem evolution in BID, a knowledge schema for representing problem formulations, a computational technique for evaluating biological analogues, and an interactive web-based tool for supporting BID practice. Through a better cognitive understanding of BID and computational methods and tools for supporting its practice, it also contributes to computational creativity.

Analogies play a well-noted role in innovative design. Analogical reasoning is central to the practices of design-by-analogy and bio-inspired design. In both, analogies are used to derive abstracted principles from prior examples to generate new design solutions. While numerous laboratory and classroom studies of analogy usage have been published, relatively few studies have systematically examined real-world design-by-analogy to describe its characteristics and impacts. To better teach design-by-analogy and develop support tools for engineers, specific insights are needed regarding, for example, what types of product advantages are gained through design-by-analogy and how different design process characteristics influence its outcomes. This research comprises two empirical product studies which investigate analogical inspiration in real-world design to inform the development of new analogy methods and tools. The first, an exploratory pilot study of 57 analogy-inspired products, introduces the product study method and applies several categorical variables to classify product examples. These variables measure aspects such as the composition of the design team, the driving approach to analogical reasoning, and the achieved benefits of using the analogy-inspired concept. The full scale study of 70 analogy-inspired products uses formal collection and screening methods and a refined set of classification variables to analyze examples. It adopts a cross-sectional approach, using statistical tests of association to detect relationships among variables. Combined, these surveys of real-world analogy-inspired innovation inform the development of analogy tools and provide a general account of distant analogy usage across engineering disciplines. The cross-sectional product study method demonstrated in this work introduces a valuable tool for investigating factors and impacts of real-world analogy usage in design.

Background: The world is facing environmental issues such as pollution, natural disasters, and climate change. A main cause of this is human activities such as urbanization and mining of materials. As the understanding of sustainability increases, new regulations from governments arise along with a surge in demand for sustainable solutions from customers. These factors will trigger a technological shift that companies need to tackle in order to stay competitive. Objectives: The aim of this research is to examine the barriers towards implementing bio-inspired methods for innovation. This will be done by studying innovators in relevant industries. Research question: What are the challenges with a large scale implementation of bio-inspired methods for innovation? Method: This study will be carried out by interviewing people working within the transportation and heavy construction industries. The candidates will, on a daily basis, work with innovation and thus contribute with their knowledge and reflections. The study will use semi-structured interviews followed by a thematic analysis to get results and draw conclusions. Results: The study shows that using methods for innovation is a common act. Furthermore, the candidates were asked how they integrate sustainability into their development. In general, the candidates had no unified answer to this question. However, several examples, such as lowering emissions, not buying from corrupt suppliers, and maintaining profitability, were mentioned. Moreover, the candidates states that the company works with identifying new methods for innovation. When asked about bio-inspired methods, most candidates were positive about an implementation. From another perspective, some candidates who work with biomimicry state the opposite. Conclusions: Using bio-inspired methods for innovation might be of interest, however, such an implementation takes long time due to organizational resistance. To understand this further, more industries and perspectives has to be studied.

Master of Science / Department of Architecture / David R. Seamon / In this thesis, biomimicry is defined as imitating or taking inspiration from nature’s forms and processes to solve human problems (Benyus, 1997). As the design community realizes the tremendous impact human constructions have on the world, environmental designers look to new approaches like biomimicry to advance sustainable design. Building upon the claim made by biomimicry scientists that a full emulation of nature engages form, ecosystem, and process, this thesis uses a phenomenological approach to interpret human and environmental wholeness. Phenomenology broadens biomimicry’s scientific and technical focus on nature and considers how wholeness can be found among form, ecosystem, and process; and between people and environment. The thesis argues that, without a deeper, more responsive connectedness among people, nature, and built environment, any proposal for sustainable design will ultimately be incomplete and thus unsuccessful. In developing this phenomenological critique, the thesis reinterprets several environmental designs from the perspective of human and environmental wholeness: American architect Eugene Tsui’s hypothetical Ultima Tower; South African architect Michael Pearce’s Eastgate project in Zimbabwe; the Altamont Pass Wind Energy Development in California; Montana philosopher Gordon Brittan’s Windjammer wind turbine; American environmentalist David Orr’s Lewis Center at Ohio’s Oberlin College; and American architect Christopher Alexander’s Eishin campus in Japan. The collective claims developed in this phenomenological critique identify considerations and approaches that move beyond replacement technologies and systems to describe a way of environmental designing and making that is necessary for actualizing a more realistic sustainability in regard to both the natural and human-made worlds.