Life on our planet has evolved so perfectly. Each creature or plant has its own unique properties that contribute to its survival. It’s no wonder therefore that scientists, engineers and inventors have looked to nature for inspiration, examining these unique properties and using them to invent something useful for humans. From high speed trains to swimsuits, you’ll be surprised by the sheer amount of items we use every day that were inspired by nature.
1. Geckos & Adhesives
1. Geckos & Adhesives
Image: Flickr
What’s so fascinating about Geckos is their power to stick to a surface with their feet and remove them just as easily, without leaving any sticky gunk behind. In fact, they have the ability to support huge loads with their feet even though they don’t need to – a gecko weighs about 140 grams but can produce enough adhesive to support up to 40 kilograms. The little lizard doesn’t use any liquid however to stick itself to vertical and even slanted surfaces, it has thousands of tiny hairs on each foot.
This amazing ability that the gecko possesses thus brought about the invention of "Geckskin". This is an adhesive device that can hold up to 300kg, and be removed without losing its functionality. The design mimics the way in which the skin and tendons of geckos are combined. It consists of a synthetic skin woven into a sort of fake tendon that allows for rotational mobility and freedom.
2. Sharks & Swimsuits
What’s so fascinating about Geckos is their power to stick to a surface with their feet and remove them just as easily, without leaving any sticky gunk behind. In fact, they have the ability to support huge loads with their feet even though they don’t need to – a gecko weighs about 140 grams but can produce enough adhesive to support up to 40 kilograms. The little lizard doesn’t use any liquid however to stick itself to vertical and even slanted surfaces, it has thousands of tiny hairs on each foot.
This amazing ability that the gecko possesses thus brought about the invention of "Geckskin". This is an adhesive device that can hold up to 300kg, and be removed without losing its functionality. The design mimics the way in which the skin and tendons of geckos are combined. It consists of a synthetic skin woven into a sort of fake tendon that allows for rotational mobility and freedom.
2. Sharks & Swimsuits
Image: Flickr
The predators of the deep can move through the ocean swiftly, using around 10% less energy than other fish. The reason for this is the way in which a shark’s skin is formed. It’s covered in ‘denticles’ which are tiny teeth-like columns, directed towards its tale. This means that while it glides through the ocean the water flows around the shark, thus reducing drag and allowing sharks to swim quicker with little effort.
Speedo thus developed swimwear based around this model called “Fastskin”. It replicated the denticles on super-stretch fabric. The artificial denticles and V-shaped ridges mean that water is drawn closer to the body and flows around it more easily. Furthermore the fabric compresses the swimmer’s body reducing muscle fatigue and skin vibration. This reduces drag by up to 4%, as well as energy consumption. Olympic swimmers such as Michael Phelps wore the suit and saw great success at the 2004 games in Athens. The performance-enhancing swimsuits were banned by The World Swimming Federation in 2010 in order to even out the playing field among competitors.
3. Whales & Wind Turbines
The predators of the deep can move through the ocean swiftly, using around 10% less energy than other fish. The reason for this is the way in which a shark’s skin is formed. It’s covered in ‘denticles’ which are tiny teeth-like columns, directed towards its tale. This means that while it glides through the ocean the water flows around the shark, thus reducing drag and allowing sharks to swim quicker with little effort.
Speedo thus developed swimwear based around this model called “Fastskin”. It replicated the denticles on super-stretch fabric. The artificial denticles and V-shaped ridges mean that water is drawn closer to the body and flows around it more easily. Furthermore the fabric compresses the swimmer’s body reducing muscle fatigue and skin vibration. This reduces drag by up to 4%, as well as energy consumption. Olympic swimmers such as Michael Phelps wore the suit and saw great success at the 2004 games in Athens. The performance-enhancing swimsuits were banned by The World Swimming Federation in 2010 in order to even out the playing field among competitors.
3. Whales & Wind Turbines
Image: Flickr
For such a huge mammal, humpback whales are incredibly agile as they move around the sea. Their huge flippers are one of the main reasons for this. The flippers have noticeable bumps on them called tubercles. They allow the whales to hold up their fins at a high angle without resistance. Fins work in a similar way to aeroplane wings, they tilt upwards to deflect the oncoming air and generate lift. Usually however if the wings are tilted too high they will stall.
Aptly named scientist Frank Fish, found that this wasn’t the case with humpback whale fins. When placed in a wind tunnel they can be tilted at a high angle without stalling because of the tubercles. Scientists don’t know exactly why this is the case. But the phenomenon has certainly been put to good use. Envira-North Systems, a Canadian manufacturer of industrial fans, and the Wind Energy Institute of Canada have thus introduced bumpy blades onto the market. Bumpy blades can reduce drag and noise, while increasing the amount of power harnessed by the turbine.
4. Kingfishers & Bullet Trains
For such a huge mammal, humpback whales are incredibly agile as they move around the sea. Their huge flippers are one of the main reasons for this. The flippers have noticeable bumps on them called tubercles. They allow the whales to hold up their fins at a high angle without resistance. Fins work in a similar way to aeroplane wings, they tilt upwards to deflect the oncoming air and generate lift. Usually however if the wings are tilted too high they will stall.
Aptly named scientist Frank Fish, found that this wasn’t the case with humpback whale fins. When placed in a wind tunnel they can be tilted at a high angle without stalling because of the tubercles. Scientists don’t know exactly why this is the case. But the phenomenon has certainly been put to good use. Envira-North Systems, a Canadian manufacturer of industrial fans, and the Wind Energy Institute of Canada have thus introduced bumpy blades onto the market. Bumpy blades can reduce drag and noise, while increasing the amount of power harnessed by the turbine.
4. Kingfishers & Bullet Trains
Image: Flickr
Japanese engineers effectively used the kingfisher to find a solution to a growing problem. By the late 1990s they had developed bullet trains that travelled at super high speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. When travelling at this speed the trains would make a lot of noise as they journeyed through tunnels in particular. The booming sounds obviously disturbed local communities as well as wildlife. One engineer found a solution to this problem in the form of the kingfisher.
He saw that the elegant bird was able to dive into bodies of water making very little splash. It was the shape of the train that was causing all of the noise, so the engineers decided to model bullet trains on the shape of the kingfisher. So the front of the train has an extended point resembling a kingfisher’s beak. When tested this prevented the noise pollution. It had the added benefit of making the train more aerodynamic too, thus reducing energy consumption by 10-15%.
5. Burdock Plants & Velcro
Japanese engineers effectively used the kingfisher to find a solution to a growing problem. By the late 1990s they had developed bullet trains that travelled at super high speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour. When travelling at this speed the trains would make a lot of noise as they journeyed through tunnels in particular. The booming sounds obviously disturbed local communities as well as wildlife. One engineer found a solution to this problem in the form of the kingfisher.
He saw that the elegant bird was able to dive into bodies of water making very little splash. It was the shape of the train that was causing all of the noise, so the engineers decided to model bullet trains on the shape of the kingfisher. So the front of the train has an extended point resembling a kingfisher’s beak. When tested this prevented the noise pollution. It had the added benefit of making the train more aerodynamic too, thus reducing energy consumption by 10-15%.
5. Burdock Plants & Velcro
Image: Flickr
Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral, took a walk with his dog in the Alps one day and found lots of burrs from burdock plants stuck to his clothing and to his dog. He was fascinated by how this happened and decided to look at the plant burrs under a microscope. He found that the burrs consisted of lots of little hooks that caught onto the miniscule hoops in the fabric fibres quite easily.
Although hook and loop fasteners were already in existence, it had never been done on a small scale like this. Thus de Mestral planned to create a sort of ‘zipperless zipper’. He first used cotton to recreate the effect of burdock burrs, by embedding strips with hundreds of hooks. This didn’t prove to be very effective however, particularly after being detached several times. He found that treated nylon worked much better and thus the Velcro we know today was born. It worked by using two strips of Velcro embedded with hoops, one with the tops of the hoops cut off so that it will connect to the other.
This post was brought to you by Velcro experts, MPD Hook and Loop.
Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral, took a walk with his dog in the Alps one day and found lots of burrs from burdock plants stuck to his clothing and to his dog. He was fascinated by how this happened and decided to look at the plant burrs under a microscope. He found that the burrs consisted of lots of little hooks that caught onto the miniscule hoops in the fabric fibres quite easily.
Although hook and loop fasteners were already in existence, it had never been done on a small scale like this. Thus de Mestral planned to create a sort of ‘zipperless zipper’. He first used cotton to recreate the effect of burdock burrs, by embedding strips with hundreds of hooks. This didn’t prove to be very effective however, particularly after being detached several times. He found that treated nylon worked much better and thus the Velcro we know today was born. It worked by using two strips of Velcro embedded with hoops, one with the tops of the hoops cut off so that it will connect to the other.
This post was brought to you by Velcro experts, MPD Hook and Loop.