Velcro
In 1941, Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral was hunting with his dog when burrs got stuck to the dog’s fur. De Mestral studied how the burrs clung, examining their tiny hooks under a microscope, and came up with an idea. Combining cotton and nylon fabric with tiny loops to create a fabric that would hold its shape, de Mestral in 1955 patented his new invention as Velcro.
Air conditioning
When Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce was tasked with designing the country’s largest commercial building in 1996, he faced a challenge: how to keep the space cool. Pearce discovered that he could mimic the natural ventilation system used by termites. The insect builds its nest out of dirt and turns it into a chimney by creating air pockets that make hot air rise while cool air stays at the bottom. As of today, the Eastgate Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe uses only 10% as much energy as conventional air-conditioning.
Airplanes
Birds have been the source of many discoveries about flight, and the first airplanes were designed using what little humans knew about flying from observing birds in flight. To design their first aircraft, the Wright brothers studied how birds create lift by having air flow over the curves of their wings. They also studied how birds can use certain warping techniques to remain airborne and streamline their flight. The Wrights engineered their aircraft so that a portion of its wings warped back and forth in a similar way to birds, producing the same effect.
Bullet train
A kingfisher’s beak has such a perfect shape that, when it dives into water, it makes almost no splash. This inspired engineer Eiji Nakatsu to use the same shape in designing a type of bullet train called a shinkansen. The old train nose, which pushed air at high speeds and created a wall of wind that slowed down the train, has been replaced by the new kingfisher-inspired design. This new nose makes trains up to 20 percent more fuel efficient.
Wetsuits
Beavers’ fur isn’t just for show. The thick pelt keeps the rodents warm and dry when they dive into icy water. In 2016, a team of engineers at MIT designed a wetsuit covered with rubber “hairs” to mimic the insulating quality of a beaver’s fur. The suit would trap air on the outside, keeping athletes warm even when they were in cold water.
Solar cells
Humans have been making solar cells for decades, but the process is expensive and uses tons of energy and toxic chemicals. But scientists have come up with a better way to make them – using enzymes from orange puffball sponges to pull out silicon and calcium from seawater, arranging the chemicals into specific shapes, and coating them with an electrically conductive material. In 2006, biochemist Daniel discovered the sponge’s ability to efficiently and cleanly harvest energy from sunlight. Scientists then copied this mechanism to create solar power electrodes that are already powering homes.
Wind turbines
Humpback whales might seem large and cumbersome, but they are actually very strong and agile swimmers. The bumps – called tubercles – on the front edge of their fins help them to swim faster and change direction more easily. A scientist named Frank Fish noticed this, and he devised a way of adding similar bumps to wind turbine blades. He found that the turbines now generated more energy when the wind changed direction, which made for a more efficient system overall.
Needles
Scientists have designed a minimally invasive, three-pronged needle that is inspired by mosquitoes’ mouths. The researchers based their design on the mosquito’s mouth and hope to use it to make needles less painful for humans. The needle also vibrates at a frequency of about 15 cycles per second, which mimics the sensation of a real bite and helps ease the needle into the skin, reducing pain. Tests have proven that this design works flawlessly.
LED lights
Scientists have developed a new coating for LED bulbs that enables the trapped light to escape. The coating is based on a principle inspired by fireflies, which twinkle in response to their own emitted light. The researchers found that scales on the inside of firefly lanterns prevented reflection, which enhanced the glow of light coming from the firefly. They used this knowledge to build a brighter LED design that emits one and a half times its normal amount of light.
UltraCane
Since 2010, the UltraCane has been helping people who are blind or visually impaired to safely navigate their environments. The UltraCane doesn’t look at all like a bat, but its creators were inspired by the way bats use sonar to avoid obstacles. Like bats, the cane uses ultrasonic echoes to detect objects in its path. The built-in sensors make it possible for users to sense objects above head height.
