Page 29 - Biomimetics : Biologically Inspired Technologies

Bar-Cohen : Biomimetics: Biologically Inspired Technologies DK3163_c001 Final Proof page 15 21.9.2005 6:40pm

Introduction to Biomimetics 15

Figure 1.10 The hand fan, which is also produced in a folding form, was probably inspired by the peacock tail and
the ability of this bird to open its tail into a wide screen that is shaken to impress the female.

of a bird’s wing or the tail of the male peacock. The advantage of using feathers is their lightweight
structure and their beauty.

1.5.3.3 Fishing Nets and Screens
The fishing net is another of nature’s invention that most likely has been imitated by humans after
observing the spider’s use of its web to catch flies. At an even more basic level, the concept of fiber
or string may well have been inspired by the spider. Both the spider web and the fishing net have
structural similarities and carry out the same function of trapping creatures passing by. The spider
uses a sticky material that helps capture the trapped insects by gluing them onto the web, and the
spider knows how to avoid being glued to its own web. Depending on the type of spider, the
distance between the fibers in the web can be as large as several centimeters and as small as
fractions of a millimeter. Beside the use of nets to catch fish, insects, and animals, humans further
expanded the application of the concept of the net to such tools as bags for carrying and storage of
objects, protective covers against insects, and mounting stored food while allowing aeration. The
screen, mesh, and many other sieving devices that allow separation of various size objects may also
be attributed to the evolution of the net. Also, it is possible to attribute the invention of the net
configuration to many medical supplies including the bandage and the membranes that are used to
cover burns and other wounds.

1.5.3.4 Fins

Unlike the failure to fly by copying the flapping of birds’ wings, the use of fins to enhance
swimming and diving has been highly successful. While it may be arguable whether the fins
were a direct biologically inspired invention, it is common knowledge that swimming creatures
have legs with gossamer (geese, swans, seagulls, seals, frogs, etc.). Imitating the legs of these
creatures offered the inventors of the fins a model that was improved to the point where it resembles