studying the biomechanics of scuttling crabs and speedy cockroaches led him to a breakthrough in understanding locomotion as a spring-loaded pendulum. Full said he worked with Boston Dynamics to apply the concept in the development of rHex, a six-legged robot used by U.S. forces in Afghanistan to scout a hazardous-looking area.
–Gabriel Miller, director of research and development at the Centre for Bioinspiration, offered another example in Sharklet Technologies, a six-year-old Colorado startup that reverse-engineered the microbe-resistant surface of sharkskin to develop materials and coatings that inhibit bacterial growth. The company is providing its technology for use in products that range from urinary catheters to the armrests of office chairs.
It also was clear that some U.S. companies are paying close attention. Among the 175 people who registered for the conference were representatives from The North Face, the Alameda, CA-based outdoor products company; New Balance, the Boston-based athletic shoe company; Steelcase, the Grand Rapids, MI-based office furniture supplier; and Procter and Gamble, the Cincinnati, OH, consumer products giant.
Bioinspiration might qualify as a hot new field of innovation, but it is not a widely recognized field, according to Lynn Reaser, an economist at San Diego’s Point Loma Nazarene University who presented a current economic outlook for bioinspiration. “Ninety-nine percent of the U.S. population has no knowledge of this field at all,” Reaser told the conference. The industry, such as it is, needs to raise awareness of bioinspiration in K-12 education, and to cultivate more cross-curriculum activity among academic and institutional researchers.
Some colleges and universities now offer academic degrees related to bioinspiration, Reaser said, and R&D is increasing. Scientists around the world published about
