| Email reply from Dr Mark Cutkosky, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University. Dr Cutkosky is Co- Director of the Center for Design Research at Standford. | |||||||||
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Dear Alexander,
As you point out, drawing inspiration from nature is a very old idea. But I think the recent growth in bio-inspired approaches to design can be traced to two factors:
(i) Biologists now have much better tools for understanding in detail how natural structures and processes work. Examples include scanning electron microscopes, genomics, microscopic force sensors, etc.
For example, it is only within the last decade that it has been possible to understand in detail the mechanisms by which gecko setae and spatulae adhere to surfaces using van der Waals forces.
(ii) Engineers now have much better tools and processes for creating complex structures that display some of the same behaviors as those found in nature. As an example, here is an article on the approach take in our laboratory:
http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/367/1894/1799.abstract
Other examples include new nanoscale fabrication processes.
Mark C.
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