Biomimetics from practical feedback to an interdisciplinary process

Biomimetics has been a subject of increasing interest but, where it has proven its scientific relevance and innovative potential from a theoretical standpoint, it remains rarely used in practice. Facing this lack of implementation, our work aimed at asking practitioners for their help to better unde...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in engineering design 2021-07, Vol.32 (3), p.349-375
Main Authors: Graeff, Eliot, Letard, Anneline, Raskin, Kalina, Maranzana, Nicolas, Aoussat, Améziane
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adequacy
Biomimetics
CAE) and Design
Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD
Engineering
Engineering Design
Engineering Sciences
Feedback
Mechanical engineering
Mechanics
Original Paper
Risk management
Semantics
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Biomimetics has been a subject of increasing interest but, where it has proven its scientific relevance and innovative potential from a theoretical standpoint, it remains rarely used in practice. Facing this lack of implementation, our work aimed at asking practitioners for their help to better understand the remaining impediments preventing biomimetics’ blooming. Thus, practitioners’ feedback and experts’ opinion on risks, adequacy and weaknesses of the current biomimetic practices were gathered and structured to present an extensive descriptive phase on biomimetic processes. Key levers for improvements, such as the need for a better risk management, the need for biological expertise and the need for clear guidance during the process, were then identified. Based on these insights various methodological contributions are prescribed. Among these inputs, the duration of the various steps of the biomimetic process was estimated through industrial projects’ feedback, semantics misunderstandings were tackled, and the integration of a new transdisciplinary profile combining an expertise in both design and biology is proposed. From these improvements, a new version of the unified problem-driven biomimetic process is proposed. A final descriptive phase performed through the evaluation of the new process by professionals underlined its relevancy along with the remaining research axes. Through the integration of a new profile matching the practitioners’ current needs and the adaptation of the process to their feedback, this article aims at proposing a biomimetic process fitting the reality of biomimetic practice in order to support its implementation.
ISSN:0934-9839
1435-6066
DOI:10.1007/s00163-021-00356-x