Mostly Up-to-date List of Bio-inspired Innovations and Solutions

The following innovations and solutions are organized by industry sector. The design is listed first, followed by the inspiring biological system. Unmarked designs were problem-driven, while designs marked with an * were biology-driven. If there is one I have missed, please let me know!

Electrical

  • Schmitt Trigger – Squid neural impulses*
  • Marisol Display by Qualcomm – Structural color of butterfly wing
  • Motion Detection Circuit – Insect compound vision

Mechanical

  • Velcro (hook and loop) – Seed pods with burrs*
  • GeckSkin – The way gecko feet use Van der Waals forces*
  • Airplanes – Lift generated by bird wings
  • Airplane Wing Tips – Noise reduction and stability of the owl wing*
  • Whale Power Turbine Blades – Tubricals on whale pectoral fins that change laminar flows into turbulent flows*
  • Ornilux Bird Protection Glass – UV-reflective threads of an orb weaver spider web
  • Pax Lily Impeller – The way a vortex pulls liquids into a funnel 
  • Shinkansen Bullet Train Nose – Kingfisher bird beak and head
  • Fog Harvesting Net – Fog-basking process of the darkling beetle
  • Hedgemon Helmet Liner – Impact reducing properties of hedgehog quills 

Civil/Infrastructure

  • Building Passive Heating and Cooling System – Chimney effect in termite mounds
  • Eiffel Tower Structure – Stress lines of human trabecular bone
  • FlectoFin Building Facade System – Reversible deformation of the Bird-of-Paradise flower pollination mechanism
  • Gherkin Tower Hexagonal Skin – Venus flower basket sponge lattice-like exoskeleton

Biomedical

  • Sharklet Technologies Textured Film – Pattern of dermal denticles on shark skin*
  • Sharklet Technologies Endotracheal Tube – Pattern of dermal denticles on shark skin*

Software

  • Encycle Energy Management Algorithm – Beehive communication
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Manufacturing

  • Interface Carpet Tiles – Color gradations and complimentary hues on the forest floor
  • FESTO Shape Adaptable Gripper – The way a chameleon tongue grabs prey at a distance

Material

  • PureBond Adhesive in Columbia Forest products – Byssal threads of the blue mussel* 
  • Nike adaptive bilayer double-knit textile – Hygroscopic pine cone scales
  • Lotusan Wall Coating – Superhydrophobic surface of the lotus flower petal (Lotus effect)
  • Self-cleaning Surfaces – Superhydrophobic surface of the lotus flower petal (Lotus effect)