Term paper report- Bionics

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Bio Molecular
Material science

Term Paper Report
Bionics

SUBMITTED BY:
AMIT JHARBADE 10003033
KAUSHAL CHAVDA 10003032
















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Contents
ABSTRACT: ....................................................................................................... 3
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 4
TOP DOWN AND BOTTOM UP APPROACH .................................................. 6
APPLICATIONS IN AVIATION INDUSTRY
[3]
.................................................... 7
TRANSPORTATION: ......................................................................................... 9
APPLICATION IN SPORTS: ............................................................................ 10
APPLICATION IN ARCHITECTURE: ............................................................... 11
MILITARY APPLICATION: .............................................................................. 11
USE OF VELCRO ............................................................................................ 12
EXOSKELETONS: ............................................................................................ 12
THE FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF BIONICS ARE: .......................................... 13
CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 13
References and Citation ............................................................................ 14


















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ABSTRACT:
The following report gives a brief synapsis of Bionics and its applications. The report gives
distinction between bionics, biotechnology and biomimetics. We take into consideration the top-
down and bottom- up approaches used in bionics and explain them in detail. The application of
bionics that are used in aviation and sports industry are then broached up. The report then
concludes with the future application of bionics.













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INTRODUCTION
Bionics is newly emerging field connecting biology and the world of classical engineering and
working as an interface between them. It is attracting a lot of interest and acknowledgement from
various fields of engineering and various branches of industry and economy. Bionics is aimed to
have a very high potential, all the technologies emerging in the world will be end results or
applications of bionics.
In order to emphasis on benefits of bionics for the modern technology or Engineering and its
general approach, and also to avoid the basic confusion or mis-understanding between similar
terms like biotechnology or bioengineering, a brief introduction into the definition,
fundamentals and principles of bionics, will be presented.

What is Bionics?
Although the historical roots of bionics can be traced back to the time of Leonardo da Vinci, the
Italian middle age genius, or maybe even to earlier times, the definition of bionics as a modern
research discipline, may be translated as Bionics (also known as bionical creativity
engineering) is the scientific discipline, which is in charge with the systematic transfer of
construction, process and evolution principles of living systems into technical applications. It is
defined as is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and
design of engineering systems and modern technology.

Bionics- Name and Meaning:
[1]
The word bionic was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the technical
term bion (pronounced bee-on) (from Ancient Greek:), meaning 'unit of life' and the suffix -
ic, meaning 'like' or 'in the manner of', hence 'like life'. Some dictionaries, however, explain the
word as being formed as a portmanteau from biology + electronics.
Nachtigall, one of the pioneers in German bionics, gave a short abstract of this formal definition
by the sentence Bionics is learning from nature for the creation of independent technical
solutions, which is underlining the important Fact that the major goal is not copying of nature.
Bionics is not searching for master templates, that can be directly transferred into a technical
solution, as it is done by biomimetic, which sometimes by mistake is used a synonym for bionics.
Biomimetic can be regarded as that special part of the much broader bionic approach, where
copying of nature is leading to useful and innovative technical solutions. The more than one
century lasting intercourse between bionics and aviation technology might serve as a good
example to demonstrate this important difference.
The more than one century lasting intercourse between bionics and aviation technology might
serve as a good example to demonstrate this important difference. Starting from the first attempts
to construct machines, that can fly, researchers and engineers tried to borrow inspirations from
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nature, thus arriving in some cases at constructions, which looked like birds, bats or flying seeds,
but not being able to achieve even a minimum percentage of the performance of their natural
templates. The final breakthrough in aviation technology is based on the simple recognition, that
a functioning technical solution can be achieved by the separation of the parts, which are
generating the lift (wings) and the propulsion (engine). Nevertheless, airplane industry is still
borrowing ideas from nature, like for instance by the introduction of the blended winglet, which
is based on bionic ideas and research, derived from studies on the aerodynamics of bird winglets
during gliding

[2]


To clarify its confusion with Biotechnology can be inferred from the definition of biotechnology.
Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or
"any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives
thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use". Whereas Bionics is an
interdisciplinary field which systematically transfers biological principles to the design of
engineering systems.
For varied loading conditions, systems from the nature are adopted which fulfil, in their
functions and structures, stated requirements best Bionic structures can subsequently be realized
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optimally by means of Additive Technologies. The rapid development already enables the
manufacturing of complex and optimized structures and in the future on an even higher extend.
This is made possible by extensive geometric freedom in constructional design. Thus,
lightweight structures can be manufactured without consideration of manufacturing limitations.
Consequently, assemblies can be consolidated/bundled resp. functions can be integrated into
components. Furthermore, component count can be economized. For new product development,
inventions of the nature are exploited and laws of nature are transferred to the field of technology.
Due to Additive Manufacturing these products possess varied stiffness, mobility and elasticity.
TOP DOWN AND BOTTOM UP APPROACH

1. Top Down Approach
[2]
:
The former example about the development of the blended winglet is a typical example for
the top-down approach of the bionic strategy. We start with a specific problem and then we
look for the analogy in biology. In this case the detailed analysis of the system, that is providing
a potential solution, in order to understand, how this proposal of nature can be transformed into a
technical system with similar properties. There may be some early solutions similar to the
original proposals of the nature but the shape of the final solution (like the blended winglet) in
many cases may not being traced back to its natural origin.

2. Bottom Up Approach
[2]
:
The complementary strategy of the previous one, the bottom-up approach of bionics, is not to
start with a well-defined problem that needs to be solved. It is a reverse process in which starting
point is already existing biological research and discoveries that is fully described and well
understood. The recognized principle, then is translated into an abstract, formal and
interdisciplinary description of the phenomenon, which is opening the pathways for the transfer
into different fields of technology.
A very well-known example bottom-up approach is the so called Lotus-effect, which was
leading to many new applications in nano structured surface design. As lotus surface is dust and
water repellent, this existing fact in nature was realized and water repellent paints and nano
surfaces were invented.

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The difference between the two approaches can be very well understood through Figure-2. The
whole process of development and optimization can be seen and demonstrated as a dialog
between the worlds of technology and biology.


APPLICATIONS IN AVIATION INDUSTRY
[3]
Bionics has its roots in aviation industry since a long time. The first known record of bionics in
aviation is dated back to 14
th
century when Leonardo Da Vinci was so fascinated with flying of
birds that he wanted to design a flying machine. Based on the geometry of birds wing, he
sketched the preliminary design of air glider plane which have tremendous similarity with
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modern gliders and planes. Bionics has been used widely in aviation industry to improve the
efficiency.



THE LOTUS EFFECT
The surface of a lotus leaf has evolved to keep it clean and dry by causing rainwater to roll off,
taking any dirt with it. Known as the lotus effect, these properties have inspired coatings for
cabin fittings, which shed water in beads and take contaminants with them. The process
improves hygiene and reduces the amount of water needed, which reduces the weight of the
aircraft and subsequently reduces the amount of fuel consumption and carbon emissions. This
innovation is already in use on the surfaces of Airbus cabin lavatories and is expected to be
found on the fabric of seats and carpets in the future.


MOVEABLE WING SURFACES
Sea birds have the ability to sense gust loads in the air with their beaks and react by adjusting the
shape of their wing feathers to suppress lift. The nose of the new Airbus A350 XWB contains
probes which can detect gusts and deploy moveable wing surfaces for more efficient flight. This
helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

Da Vincis Design on the left and modern glider on the right. Both were inspired from geometry
of birds.
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THE SILENT FLIGHT OF THE OWL
Over a period of 20 million years, owls have evolved to have serrated feathers on their wings and
downy feathers on their legs, which minimize aerodynamic noise. Even though modern aircraft
already produce 75 per cent less noise than those built 40 years ago, engineers are studying owls
to further unlock the secrets of silent flight. Ideas include a retractable brush fringe to mimic the
owls trailing feathers and a velvet-like coating on aircraft landing gear.
BUTTERFLY WINGS
Butterflies and insects are some of the most beautiful and delicate creatures on the planet, which
belies the fantastically intricate mechanisms in their wing structure, designed to achieve
optimum efficiency in flight. Soft membrane and blood vessels (micro-capillaries) can stiffen or
relax to allow the wing to adapt to every stage of flight. Engineers have similarly developed
aircraft wings that naturally turn and twist in flight, but if this could be controlled, then their
efficiency could be enhanced, reducing the fuel consumed during flight. Engineers are
researching the possibility of using small movable surfaces and active internal structural
components as part of an aircraft wing to mimic the way micro-capillaries in a butterflys wing,
making for more efficient flight in the future.
TRANSPORTATION:
The Shinkansen Bullet Train of the West Japan Railway Company is the fastest train in the world,
traveling 200 miles per hour. When the train passes through a tunnel, it resulted in a great noise
because of its high speed. The trains chief engineer Eiji Nakatsu asked himself who an
inspiration from the nature can be taken which will solve the noise problem. He started to search
whether is there something in Nature that travels quickly and smoothly between two very
different mediums Then he noticed how a kingfisher bird captures its pray (fish) by diving into
water from air. Modeling the front-end of the train after the beak of kingfishers, which dive from
the air into bodies of water with very little splash to catch fish, resulted not only in a quieter train,
but 15% less electricity use even while the train travels 10% faster.
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APPLICATION IN SPORTS:
The controversial LZR racer swimming costume manufactured by SPEEDO is another
application of bionics. This swimming costume was banned by FINA (International Swimming
Federation) in 2009 on the grounds that it offered lesser drag while swimming. In total 23 out of
the 25 world records broken, were achieved by swimmers competing in the LZR suit. These suits
were unbelievably fast. In a statement Michal Phelps said: When I hit the water [in the LZR
swimsuit], I feel like a rocket.


These suits were inspired from sharks skin. The skin of fast-swimming sharks exhibits riblet
structures aligned in the direction of flow that are known to reduce skin friction drag in the
turbulent-flow regime. The grooves in a sharks skin simultaneously reduce eddy formation in
a surprising number of ways:
The grooves reinforce the direction of flow by channeling it
They speed up the slower water at the sharks surface (as the same volume of water going
through a narrower channel increases in speed), reducing the difference in speed of this
surface flow and the water just beyond the sharks surface.
They pull faster water towards the sharks surface so that it mixes with the slower water,
reducing this speed differential
Swimming suits based on sharks skin (riblet structure)
[4]
Design of fastest train inspired from Kingfishers bleak
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They divide up the sheet of water flowing over the sharks surface so that any turbulence
created results in smaller, rather than larger, vortices
The use of riblet structure is also proposed to be implemented in pipe system which will result is
lesser pressure drop by 20% to 25%. However, due to intrinsic design features of riblet structure,
it is not possible yet but in future, the use of this technology might be possible in piping system
as well which will be more economical.
APPLICATION IN ARCHITECTURE:
Bionics has touched upon architecture too. It is known that termites mounds are capable of
maintaining the inside temperature constant (while the temperatures outside swing from 42 C to
3 C). Eastgate Building, an office complex in Harare, Zimbabwe, has an air conditioning system
modeled on the self-cooling mounds of Macrotermes michaelseni, a type of termites. The
building uses 90% percent less energy for ventilation than conventional buildings of its size, and
has already saved the building owners over $3.5 million dollars in air conditioning costs.


MILITARY APPLICATION:
Fast runner
[5]
is a robot whose design is inspired from ostrich. Ostrich is the fastest running bird
on earth which can run at an astonishing speed of 70 km/hr. It is being developed by IHMC, a
not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System.


A building in Harare inspired from termites mounds
An ostrich on left and his bionic design fast runner on the right
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The fast runner is a similar in design to an ostrich. A novel leg design is being developed to
enable Fast Runner to achieve unprecedented efficiency and speed while being self-stabilizing. It
find its military application in transportation of information and other things like first aid kit
which are now done with a soldier on the war field. Its trunk has empty space where the thing
need to transported is kept.
USE OF VELCRO
Velcro is a mean of fastening things, on microscopic level its structure consist of tiny hooks and
loops which entangle together to fasten the two surfaces. Its design is inspired from burrs (seeds)
of burdock plant. Its invention is often seen as an inspiration from nature or the copying of
nature's mechanisms (called bionics or biomimesis). Velcro finds its use in many applications.
One such unique and innovative application is shown in the following picture.



Chess board shown above uses Velcro for chess board with hooks on the chess board and loops
on the pieces.
EXOSKELETONS:
These are the devices which give external support to body which thus enables the people with
physical disability to stand and walk properly.
An astronaut of NASA playing chess in zero gravity
[6]
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The design of these exoskeleton is based on the working of human body. Thus these are more
efficient than other methods of supporting like crutches. The stroke patient use these as a tool
to help regain their limb control.
So far weve seen the applications of bionics that are already developed and are implemented
wherever necessary. However future hold much for bionics, its future applications are
unimaginable. According to the annual report 2012-2013 of Bionics institute, neurobionics will
play a key role in achieving the unimaginable heights. Neurobionics
[7]
is aimed at the objective
to substitute failed and damaged parts of the human brain and spinal cord by artificial,
implantable systems of information processing.
THE FUTURE APPLICATIONS OF BIONICS ARE:
MODULAR PROSTHETIC LIMB: It is under research at Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory, it has 26 articulating joints and will likely be controlled via
electrodes on or under the skinbut arms manipulated by sensors directly on the
nerves and by brain implants. This is proposed to be developed by the end of 2016
[8]
.
ARTIFICIAL KIDNEY: This is under R&D at University of California. It will replace all the
functions of the real thing in an implantable device about the size of a baseball. A series
of nano-drilled silicon screens filter toxins out of the blood without the need for pumps or
outside power. This is proposed to be developed by 2022
[9]
.
CONCLUSION
For innovative design solutions we just need to take a close look at nature. Because
perfect design already exist, as nature has evolved in 2 billion years and hence it
perfected itself but we forget to notice it! This is the underlying fundamental principle of
Bionics. The application of bionics is very vast, today there wont be any branch of
science which has not inspired by the principles of nature. In future, the bionics will
greatly affect the human life.

An exoskeleton to give
support to a physically
disabled body
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References and Citation
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionics
2. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/229046093_Bionics_in_Engineering-
Defining_new_Goals_in_Engineering_Education_at_Politehnica_University_of_B
ucharest
3. http://www.airbus.com/innovation/eco-efficiency/design/bionics/
4. http://coachsci.sdsu.edu/swim/bodysuit/fiveauth.htm
5. http://www.ihmc.us/groups/fastrunner/
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurobionics
8. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/prosthetics/the-future-history-of-
bionic-tech#slide-6
9. http://www.ucsf.edu/