Schematic diagram of the worm-inspired robot. Credit: Jin et al. Topics: Applied Physics, Biomimetics, Instrumentation, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics Bio-inspired robots, robotic systems that emulate the appearance, movements, and/or functions of specific biological systems, could help to tackle real-world problems more efficiently and reliably. Over the past two decades, roboticists have introduced a growing number ofContinue reading “As The Worm Turns…”
Category Archives: Biomimetics
Balsa Chips…
Modified wood modulates electrical current: researchers at Linköping University, together with colleagues from the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, have developed the world’s first electrical transistor made of wood. (Courtesy: Thor Balkhed) Topics: Applied Physics, Biomimetics, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science, Research Researchers in Sweden have built a transistor out of a plank of wood byContinue reading “Balsa Chips…”
Caveat Modifier…
The Biofire Smart Gun. Photographer: James Stukenberg for Bloomberg Businessweek Topics: Biometrics, Biotechnology, Computer Science, Democracy, Materials Science, Semiconductor Technology Tech Target (Alyssa Provazza, Editorial Director): “A smartphone is a cellular telephone with an integrated computer and other features not originally associated with telephones, such as an operating system, web browsing, and the ability to runContinue reading “Caveat Modifier…”
Syncing Fireflies…
Topics: Biology, Biomimetics, Biotechnology, Computer Modeling, Mathematics In Japanese folk traditions, they symbolize departing souls or silent, ardent love. Some Indigenous cultures in the Peruvian Andes view them as the eyes of ghosts. And across various Western cultures, fireflies, glow-worms, and other bioluminescent beetles have been linked to a dazzling and at times contradictory arrayContinue reading “Syncing Fireflies…”
4D Beetles…
Topics: 3D Printing, Additive Manufacturing, Biomimetics Researchers in the Netherlands have produced models of a beetle that changes color and a scallop shell that opens and closes in response to changing humidity in the surrounding air. Inspired by iridescent structures in nature, Jeroen Sol and colleagues at the Eindhoven University of Technology showed that they could integrateContinue reading “4D Beetles…”