Can Nature Solve Our Most Complex Engineering Challenges?

The complexity of engineering systems is increasing relentlessly, and it is making innovation slow. Minor performance improvements often need enormous human and financial efforts. Breaking this law of diminishing returns means thinking outside of the box. Taking inspiration from nature to overcome engineering challenges is a powerful source of novel and disruptive solutions.

It is easy to see why. Nature is the oldest R&D lab, with 3.8 billion years of experience in research, evolution, and innovation. Living beings have established efficient, frugal, and sustainable solutions in response to the constraints of their specific environments.?

A great example of this principle in practice is the design of the Japanese?Shinkansen train. The train’s nose is based on a kingfisher’s beak, an approach that resolves noise and vibration issues, allowing the train to go faster while using less energy. Want to find a zero-energy air conditioning system to keep you at a cool 20°C when it is 50°C outside? Then look no further than termite mounds, the basis of the design used by the architects of the Eastgate Centre in Zimbabwe. ?And the efficient fastening system, Velcro, was inspired by burdocks and is today used by NASA for space missions.?

Nature’s engineering solutions can reduce our carbon footprint, improve sustainability, and be a potent source of rapid and disruptive solutions. They can be applied in a wide range of domains: life science, materials, mechanical engineering, buildings, energy, and even find more efficient algorithms in computing. We are using the approach in projects to improve the aerodynamic performance of heavy-duty trucks and to develop a new air compressor with better energy efficiency to supply hydrogen engines.

But there is more to this discipline than simply copying and pasting from nature. Engineering systems often have operating conditions like high temperatures, pressures, or speeds that do not occur naturally. This makes identifying suitable biological systems inexorably more challenging. We must progress from biomimicry - simple mimicry of nature - to bio-inspiration - a more profound inspiration drawn from biological mechanisms.?

Bio-inspiration needs multi-disciplinary teams to understand better solutions coming from nature. It opens new jobs at the border of engineering and biology. It reinforces the need for and the importance of preserving biodiversity: it is our natural library from where we can find answers and inspiration.?

Nature has often been seen as something we must tame; today, it can become our best partner. Nature has answers to many of humankind’s engineering challenges; we must learn to ask the right question. ?So, if you are faced with challenging engineering questions, a walk in the forest to reflect on the beauty of nature may help you find an innovative answer.

Related resources:

• Want more articles like this - Draw Me a Future – download the complete series
• Innovation takes stamina - Research & Innovation at Capgemini Engineering