BioCoder #3

DIYbiomimicry

Luis D. Rodriguez

Biomimicry is the design and production of materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes. For about 50 years now, scientists and engineers in the relatively young engineering field of biomimicry have been formally copying nature’s models to improve existing machines and innovate new products. One famous example is the boxcar modeled after the boxfish, in which engineers copied the low drag properties of the fish to make the vehicle more energy-efficient (Figure 6-1).

Figure 6-1. Boxfish (left), box concept car (right). Photo source: http://www.greencarcongress.com.

Biomimicry is not normally associated with the DIYbio community, as it is principally the domain of multimillion-dollar corporations and military research for aiding war efforts. Still, my honest endeavor to empower as many designers, programmers, and bio artists through biomimicry as possible has initially been well received in web conferences around the world.

Nature’s managing of complexity and achieving of harmony can be understood with mathematical formulas beneath complicated systems. These processes have been extracted into mathematical proportions and patterns such as the Fibonacci sequence, and I dare to demonstrate its application to digital design and web programming much as scientists and engineers do with complex engineering solutions from ...