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Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. Also a short form of biomechanics, the word 'bionic' is actually a portmanteau formed from '''''bio'''logy'' (from the Greek word "βιος", pronounced "vios", meaning "life") and ''electr'''onic'''''. The transfer of technology between lifeforms and synthetic constructs is desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces natural systems to become highly optimized and efficient. A classical example is the development of dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) from the observation that the surface of the lotus flower plant is practically unsticky for anything (the lotus effect). Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins, sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating the echolocation of bats. In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced cybernetics, artificial neurons, artificial neural networks, and swarm intelligence. Evolutionary computation was also motivated by bionics ideas but it took the idea further by simulating evolution in silico and producing well-optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature. It is estimated by Julian Vincent, professor of biomimetics at the University of Bath in the UK, that "at present there is only a 10% overlap between biology and technology in terms of the mechanisms used".
History The name biomimetics was coined by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s. The term bionics was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1960 at a conference in Dayton. Methods Often, the study of bionics emphasizes imitation of a biological structure rather than just an implementation of its function. For example, in computer science, cybernetics tries to model actual organic structures that make humans intelligent, while artificial intelligence tries to model the intelligent function regardless of the particular way it can be achieved. The conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies is a form of applied case-based reasoning, treating nature itself as a database of solutions that already work. Proponents argue that the selective pressure placed on all natural life forms minimizes and removes failures. Although almost all engineering could be said to be a form of biomimicry, the modern origins of this field are usually attributed to Buckminster Fuller and its later codification as a field of study to Janine Benyus. Roughly, we can distinguish three biological levels in biology after which technology can be modelled: Examples of biomimetics
In business The latest research by Phil Richardson at the Centre for Biomimetics at the University of Bath has shown that Biomimetic models can be used to create analogies in business. The analogies can be applied to provide inspiration as a precursor to innovation. This approach can then be hybridised with traditional programme governance models to create an integrated inspiration to implementation method. Examples include the application of natural systems to solving complex data problems. In medicine Bionics is a term which refers to flow of ideas from biology to engineering and vice versa. Hence, there are two slightly different points of view regarding the meaning of the word. In medicine, Bionics means the replacement or enhancement of organs or other body parts by mechanical versions. Bionic implants differ from mere prostheses by mimicking the original function very closely, or even surpassing it. Bionics' German equivalent "Bionik" always takes the broader scope in that it tries to develop engineering solutions from biological models. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological solutions will always be optimized by evolutionary forces. While the technologies that make bionic implants possible are still in a very early stage, a few bionic items already exist, the best known being the cochlear implant, a device for deaf people. By 2004 fully functional artificial hearts have been developed. Significant further progress is expected to take place with the advent of nanotechnologies. A well known example of a proposed nanodevice is a respirocyte, an artificial red cell, designed (though not built yet) by Robert Freitas. Kwabena Boahen from Ghana was a professor in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania. During his eight years at Penn, he developed a silicon retina that was able to process images in the same manner as a living retina. He confirmed the results by comparing the electrical signals from his silicon retina to the electrical signals produced by a salamander eye while the two retinas were looking at the same image. Bionics are a common element of science fiction, with The Six Million Dollar Man as the probably best-known example. In the mid-1970s, when scientists in a popular TV series rebuilt a wounded, barely-living test pilot into the world's first bionic man, making him "better, stronger, faster," the field of medical bionics was the stuff of science fiction. No longer. On April 3, at Experimental Biology 2006, some of the leading scientists in the rapidly expanding field of bionics explain how much of what was once fiction is today at least partial reality - including electronically-powered legs, arms, and eyes like those given TV's Six Million Dollar Man 30-plus years ago. The symposium on "The $6 Billion (Hu)Man" is part of the scientific program of the American Association of Anatomists. Politics A political form of biomimcry is bioregional democracy, wherein political borders conform to natural ecoregions rather than human cultures or the outcomes of prior conflicts. Critics of these approaches often argue that ecological selection itself is a poor model of minimizing manufacturing complexity or conflict, and that the free market relies on conscious cooperation, agreement, and standards as much as on efficiency - more analogous to sexual selection. Charles Darwin himself contended that both were balanced in natural selection - although his contemporaries often avoided frank talk about sex, or any suggestion that free market success was based on persuasion, not value. Advocates, especially in the anti-globalization movement, argue that the mating-like processes of standardization, financing and marketing, are already examples of runaway evolution - rendering a system that appeals to the consumer but which is inefficient at use of energy and raw materials. Biomimicry, they argue, is an effective strategy to restore basic efficiency. Biomimicry is also the second principle of Natural Capitalism. Other uses In a more specific meaning, it is a creativity technique that tries to use biological prototypes to get ideas for engineering solutions. This approach is motivated by the fact that biological organisms and their organs have been well optimized by evolution. A less common and maybe more recent meaning of the term "bionics" refers to merging organism and machine. This approach results in a hybrid systems combining biological and engineering parts, which can also be referred as cybernetic organism (cyborg). American heavy metal group Megadeth's song Psychotron refers to bionics in this form; "Part bionic and organic, not a cyborg, call him Psychotron". This definition of bionics is best known to the general public in reference to the television series The Six Million Dollar Man, in which the titular cyborg character is referred to as a "bionic man". The TV series was based upon the science fiction novel Cyborg by Martin Caidin, who also discusses bionics in his 1968 novel, The God Machine. See also: implant, prosthesis. See also Compare with: Notes | ||||||||||
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