As this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity is coming up on 22nd May, iConservationist thought to share some remarkable innovations made throughout the last few decades. As this year’s theme – “our solutions are in nature” suggests the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020 is dedicated to identifying solutions from the nature. Innovating human applications after closely monitoring natural phenomena is the concept behind this ideology. This is basically called mimicking the nature – ‘Biomimicry‘.
For the last few years naturalists, scientists, researchers and inventors have paid a close attention to nature to achieve an inspiration for their creations and designs. This has resulted a rapid development in the sustainability of many sectors such as transport, agriculture, architecture, medicine, energy etc. The most important quality of these innovations are their eco-friendly nature and the efficiency. There are hundreds of nature-inspired human applications out there. iConservationist has selected few of them, representing few major sectors to give you an exposure to biomimicry.
The Eastgate Center in Harare (Zimbabwe)is one of the eco-miracles in architecture. This building is like a termite mound in disguise. Why does it called a termite mound? It has an eco friendly, super efficient air cooling system just like a termite mound! This ventilation system is a victory in energy conservation and totally inspired by termite architecture! Think about all the fans and air conditioning machines that will be no use in this building. Do not forget that this ventilation system is 100% natural. It is more than clear that some of the major issues in today’s world can be resolved easily if you look closer in to nature.
(Image credit & For more information, https://www.jcdecaux.com/mobility-trends/when-nature-inspires-tomorrows-urban-techs)
Moving on from architecture, let’s take a look at the transportation sector. I believe you all have seen common kingfishers. They are great fishermen in natural world. If you have seen the way they aim and attack their prey, I am pretty sure that you understand this technology. They catch their prey within milliseconds and what helps them in this process? Their beaks! The structure of their beak helps them to reach their prey fast, without making any noises. Would you believe if I say that Shinkansen bullet train is inspired by common kingfisher? Yes! The structure of their beaks have inspired engineers to change the nose design of this bullet train. The result was a more efficient, noise-reduced train! This is yet another example of nature-inspired innovative designs.
(Image credit & For more information, https://asknature.org/strategy/beak-provides-streamlining/#.XiDYwVNKjBI , https://www.oreilly.com/content/what-happens-when-you-combine-a-kingfisher-and-a-bullet-train-innovation/)
Having a vaccine is not one of the greatest experiences in the world and it is way worse than a mosquito bite, right? Exactly. That is why the next generation near-painless, hypodermic needle is here. As you guessed it is inspired by mosquito proboscis. This needle reduce the damage which can be caused by an ordinary hypodermic needle and it is best in use for sensitive and delicate cases. The tests conducted among humans indicates that it is a bit discomfortable for awhile but the developers are confident that they will be able to modify the needle after studying more about mosquito proboscis structure in future.
(Image credit & For more information, https://thinktechi.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/mosquito-inspires-near-painless-hypodermic-needle/)
As we are struggling through an energy crisis, researchers focus on finding alternate energy resources. Wind is one of the natural energy resources but it is also tricky when you put it in to use. The concern was to get the maximum efficiency from wind. To generate electricity using wind, people have created wind turbines. The amazing news is the inefficient wind turbinesare modified now in to one of the most efficient structures. The inspiration behind this design is non other than the majestic Humpback whale. Humpback whales have serrated looking fins with tubercles which help them in manoeuvring. This is the inspiration behind the next generation wind turbine technology. These wind turbines are proved to be efficient than the ordinary turbines and aid in energy conservation too.
(Image credit & For more information, https://materialdistrict.com/article/humpback-whales-inspire-next-generation-wind-turbine-technology/)
Finally, iConservationist is ready to bring some information about a desert beetle which successfully harvest water to survive in extreme dry weather conditions. Namib Desert beetle (Stenocara gracilipes) is a dessert beetle species which is good at fog basking. It collects the water vapour in fog which usually occur at dawns in desert areas. Their fog basking technology has inspired a water conservation method, which is basically harvesting water from thin air. This will be a great advantage in agriculture, specifically in dry seasons. Even though Fog basking/ harvesting is not a novel idea for some people, the level of efficiency should be taken in to consideration. The researchers are doing more studies to understand the structure which helps the Namib Desert beetle in harvesting fog at such a successful rate.
(Image credit & For more information, https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/11/could-desert-beetle-help-humans-harvest-water-thin-air)
With those examples, iConservationist will be wrapping up for today. Nature is truly inspiring and there are thousands of things to learn from it. As the idea “Our solutions are in nature” suggests, if you look closer you will be so surprised at how wondrous even the tiniest natural creations are! So next time, do not forget to take a closer look at your environment, when you have a problem to resolve. Let’s keep exploring!
 |
| Let us be environmentally responsible citizens! |
Comments
Post a Comment