This page houses a curated list of resources to support bio-inspired design that I am aware of. Enjoy!
Tools I Developed:
- BID Canvas
- Engineering-to-Biology Thesaurus
- Biological Functional Modeling
- Visual Analogy Sketching
- Inspiration Categories
- BioSearch (text mining tool)
Databases:
- AskNature – http://asknature.org
- BiOPS – http://nature4innovation.com
- Bionic Inspiration – http://bionicinspiration.org
- Tree of Life – http://tolweb.org/tree/
- Design Engineering Lab Design Repository – http://ftest.mime.oregonstate.edu/repo/browse/
Tools/Methods:
- Biomimicry Institute Guide – https://toolbox.biomimicry.org
- BioMole (visualization tool to explore functions) – http://biomole.asknature.org
- E2BMO (merges the Ontology of Biomimetics by Vincent and the Engineering to Biology Thesaurus by Nagel) – https://www.uakron.edu/bric/E2BMO/index.html
- TINKERCAD pattern analysis – https://www.tinkercad.com/lessonplans/biomimicry-and-using-nature-as-a-design-partner
Sustainability Focused:
- Materiom (for people who want to make materials or for prototyping) – http://www.materiom.org/
- AutoDesk Sustainable Design (not specifically bio-inspired design but principles are embedded – see free course towards the bottom) – https://academy.autodesk.com/sustainable-design
- Biomimicry Innovation Toolkit for Sustainable Packaging – https://biomimicry.net/the-buzz/resources/biomimicry-innovation-toolkit-sustainable-packaging/
Video Series:
- Xploration’s “Nature Knows Best” Video Series:
- Nature Knows Best is a fascinating STEM series that looks at the fun and clever ways scientists and innovators are copying nature to create some of the world’s most amazing advancements.
- https://www.xplorationstation.com/show/Xploration-Nature-Knows-Best
- National Geographic Weird But True Series:
- This series explores the science between the planet and its wildlife. It is aimed at a youth audience.
- https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/adventure_pass/weird-but-true/
- The mission of this journal is to showcase the nexus of science and design in the field of biologically inspired design, using case studies, news and articles that are exemplary in their impact on the field, rigorous in their methodology, and relevant to today’s reader.
- https://zqjournal.org
- The NASA Virtual Interchange for Nature-inspired Exploration (V.I.N.E.) is intended to be a sustainable, cross-geographical, 24×7 online workspace. With nature-inspired exploration as its driving philosophy, V.I.N.E seeks to solve NASA’s biggest challenges, with the help of subject matter experts from academia, industry, and other government agencies.
- PeTaL (Periodic Table of Life) is intended to be a design tool to enable systematic design of nature-inspired systems.
- Access to design tools, events, fellowships, and more.
- https://www.grc.nasa.gov/vine/
- Online forum and subscription service dedicated to furthering the practice of bio-inspired design.
- Sing up for the newsletter to stay updated on workshops, conferences, etc. relevant to bio-inspired design.
- https://bioinspired.sinet.ca
- The technical standard of biomimetics
- https://www.iso.org/committee/652577.html