Bionics: How and What Creation Teaches Us to Solve Mechanical Problems

During the last four decades a fast development of bio inspired engineering took place. The results are published under terms like Bionics, Biomechanics, Biotechnology, Biomimetics, Biomimicry, Bioengineering, Bioarchitecture. The talk presented will mainly focus on what a mechanical/structural/civil engineer can learn from these fields. Questions like: What can we learn from a frozen blanket applying the law of gravity? What can we learn from a tree – its seen and unseen parts? What can we learn from a tiger claw to design the optimal crane hook? How can we optimise structural elements learning from the human skeleton? Learning to “look” is one of the keys to grasp ideas from creation and its application in developing new constructions, identifying new mechanisms and concepts.