Bionics

For other uses, seeBionic (disambiguation).

Robotbehaviour (bottom) modeled after that of acockroach(top) and agecko(middle)

Bionicsorbiologically inspired engineeringis the application of biological methods and systems found innatureto the study and designengineeringsystems and moderntechnology.

The wordbionic,coined byJack E. Steelein August 1958, is aportmanteaufrombiologyandelectronicswhich was popularized by the 1970s U.S. television seriesThe Six Million Dollar ManandThe Bionic Woman,both based on the novelCyborgbyMartin Caidin.All three stories feature humans given various superhuman powers by theirelectromechanicalimplants.

According to proponents of bionic technology, thetransfer of technologybetween 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 thelotus flowerplant (thelotus effect).

The term "biomimetic"is preferred for references to chemical reactions, such as reactions that, in nature, involve biologicalmacromolecules(e.g., enzymes or nucleic acids) whose chemistry can be replicatedin vitrousing much smaller molecules.

Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins orsonar,radar,and medicalultrasoundimaging imitatinganimal echolocation.

In the field ofcomputer science,the study of bionics has producedartificial neurons,artificial neural networks,andswarm intelligence.Bionics also influencedEvolutionary computationbut took the idea further by simulating evolutionin silicoand producing optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature.

A 2006 research article estimated that "at present there is only a 12% overlap betweenbiologyand technology in terms of the mechanisms used ".

History

The name "biomimetics" was coined byOtto Schmittin the 1950s. The term "bionics" was later introduced byJack E. Steelein August 1958 while working at theAeronautics Division HouseatWright-Patterson Air Force BaseinDayton, Ohio.However, terms like biomimicry or biomimetics are preferred in order to avoid confusion with the medical term "bionics." Coincidentally,Martin Caidinused the word for his 1972 novelCyborg,which was adapted into the television film and subsequent seriesThe Six Million Dollar Man.Caidin was a long-time aviation industry writer before turning to fiction full-time.

Methods

Velcrowas inspired by the tiny hooks found on the surface ofburs.

The study of bionics often emphasizes implementing a function found in nature rather than imitating biological structures. For example, in computer science,cyberneticsmodels the feedback and control mechanisms that are inherent in intelligent behavior, whileartificial intelligencemodels 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 appliedcase-based reasoning,treating nature itself as a database of solutions that already work. Proponents argue that theselective pressureplaced on allnatural life formsminimizes and removes failures.

Although almost allengineeringcould be said to be a form ofbiomimicry,the modern origins of this field are usually attributed toBuckminster Fullerand its later codification as a house or field of study toJanine Benyus.

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)
• Studying organizational principles from thesocial behavior of organisms,such as theflocking behaviorof birds, optimization ofant foragingandbee foraging,and the swarm intelligence (SI)-based behavior of aschool of fish.

Examples

• Inrobotics,bionics and biomimetics are used to apply the way animals move to the design of robots.BionicKangaroowas based on the movements and physiology of kangaroos.
• Velcrois the most famous example of biomimetics. In 1948, theSwissengineerGeorge de Mestralwas cleaning his dog of burrs picked up on a walk when he realized how the hooks of theburrsclung to the fur.
• The horn-shaped, saw-tooth design forlumberjackblades 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-burrowingbeetle.The blades were significantly more efficient and thus revolutionized the timber industry.
• Cat's eye reflectorswere invented byPercy Shawin 1935 after studying the mechanism of cat eyes. He had found that cats had a system of reflecting cells, known astapetum lucidum,which was capable of reflecting the tiniest bit of light.
• Leonardo da Vinci's flying machines and ships are early examples of drawing from nature in engineering.
• Resilinis a replacement for rubber that has been created by studying the material also found in arthropods.
• Julian Vincent drew from the study ofpineconeswhen he developed in 2004 "smart" clothing that adapts to changing temperatures. "I wanted a nonlivingsystemwhich 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 fromPenn State University.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 theswing-wingdesign.

Lotus leaf surface,rendered:microscopic view

• Some paints and roof tiles have been engineered to be self-cleaning by copying the mechanism from theNelumbo lotus.
• Cholesteric liquid crystals(CLCs) are the thin-film material often used to fabricate fish tank thermometers ormood ringsthat change color with temperature changes. They change color because their molecules are arranged in ahelicalorchiralarrangement and with temperature the pitch of that helical structure changes, reflecting differentwavelengthsof light.Chiral Photonics, Inc.has abstracted the self-assembled structure of the organic CLCs to produce analogous optical devices using tiny lengths of inorganic, twistedglass fiber.
• Nanostructuresand physical mechanisms that produce the shining color ofbutterflywings were reproducedin silicobyGreg Parker,professor of Electronics and Computer Science at theUniversity of Southampton,and research student Luca Plattner in the field ofphotonics,which iselectronicsusingphotonsas the information carrier instead ofelectrons.
• The wing structure of the bluemorpho butterflywas studied and the way it reflects light was mimicked to create anRFIDtag 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.
• Neuromorphicchipsandsilicon retinaehave wiring that is modeled afterreal 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 byHoward T. Odum,who perceived the structure andenergydynamics 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 virusesalso show similarities with biological viruses, attacking program-oriented information towards self-reproduction and dissemination.
• The cooling system of theEastgate Centrebuilding inHararewas modeled after atermite moundto achieve very efficient passive cooling.
• Adhesive which allowsmusselsto stick to rocks, piers, and boat hulls inspired bioadhesive gel forblood vessels.
• 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 inJournal of Experimental Biology.Similar statements were also made by John Videler and Eize Stamhuis in their bookAvian Flight,and in the article they present inScienceabout LEVs.This research in bionics may also be used to create more efficient helicopters or miniatureUAVs,as stated by Bret Tobalske in an article inScienceaboutHummingbirds.UC Berkeleyas well asESAhave been working in a similar direction and created theRobofly(a miniature UAV) and theEntomopter(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 inScience Advances.

Specific uses of the term

Induced sensorimotor brain plasticity controls pain in phantom limb.

In medicine

Bionicsrefers to the flow of concepts frombiologytoengineeringand vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word.

In medicine,bionicsmeans the replacement or enhancement oforgansor other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mereprosthesesby 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 byevolutionaryforces.

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-channelcochlear implant(bionic ear), a device fordeafpeople. 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 exampleParkinson's diseaseandepilepsy.

In 1997,ColombianresearcherAlvaro Rios Povedadeveloped an upper limb and handprosthesiswithsensory feedback.This technology allows amputee patients to handle prosthetic hand systems in a more natural way.

By 2004 fully functionalartificial heartswere developed. Significant progress is expected with the advent ofnanotechnology.A well-known example of a proposed nanodevice is arespirocyte,an artificial red cell designed (though not yet built) byRobert Freitas.

During his eight years in the Department of Bioengineering at theUniversity of Pennsylvania,Kwabena Boahendeveloped asiliconretinathat 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 asalamandereye while the two retinas were looking at the same image.

On July 21, 2015, theBBC's medical correspondentFergus Walshreported, "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-relatedmacular degenerationwhich 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 theArgus IIand manufactured in the US by the companySecond Sight Medical Products,had been used previously in patients who were blind as the result of the rare inherited degenerative eye diseaseretinitis pigmentosa.

In 2016,Tilly Lockey(born October 7, 2005) was fitted with a pair of bionic "Hero Arms" manufactured byOpenBionics,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 withmeningococcal sepsisstrain 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 inAfghanistanduring 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 inFMCG,defense, central government, packaging, and business services. Based on the work by Phil Richardson at theUniversity of Baththe approach was launched at theHouse of Lordsin May 2009.

Generally, biometrics is used as acreativity techniquethat studiesbiologicalprototypes to get ideas for engineering solutions.

In chemistry, abiomimetic synthesisis achemical synthesisinspired bybiochemicalprocesses.

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). Practical realization of this was demonstrated inKevin Warwick's implant experiments bringing aboutultrasoundinput via his own nervous system.

See also

• Biomechatronics
• Biomedical engineering
• Biomimetics
• The Bionic Woman
• Bionic Woman(2007 TV series)
• Bionic architecture
• Biophysics
• Biotechnology
• Cyborg
• Cyborg(novel)
• History of technology
• Implant
• Index of environmental articles
• Neuroprosthetics
• Prosthesis
• The Six Million Dollar Man
• Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering
• Terminator
• Transhumanism

Sources

• Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.1997.Janine Benyus.
• Biomimicry for Optimization, Control, and Automation,Springer-Verlag, London, 2005, Kevin M. Passino
• "Ideas Stolen Right from Nature"(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)
• Biological Robotics at the University of TulsaArchived20 December 2018 at theWayback Machine
• 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
• Biologically Inspired Materials Institute
• Bio Inspired Engineering at the Applied University Kufstein, AustriaArchived20 December 2018 at theWayback Machine
• Laboratory for Nature Inspired Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University