BIOINSPIRATION. Welcome to my blog!

Bioinspired Design is design inspired by nature. In this blog, among other subjects, I present Bioinspired human technologies and examples of Colombian nature that we can take ideas from. Over time, this blog will evolve with new topics, such as data analytics, which will show us other ways of approaching our relationship with the rest of nature.

We are familiar with Bioinspired technologies, such as the airplanes that began to be built as an imitation of bird’s flight. Or, the velcro whose inspiration was the thistles, small plants that stick to our clothes when we walk through the fields. Bioinspiration advances, and today surgical instruments are developed that move like wasp stingers, and there are swimsuits inspired by shark skin.

But … Why take ideas from living beings? Because life has been on earth for more than three billion eight hundred million years (3,800’000,000!) developing strategies that allowed it and continue allowing it to survive and prosper. This success is due to the following Design Principles  (https://asknature.org/resource/lifes-principles/):

Design Principles

• Evolve to survive.
• Be efficient with resources.
• Adapt to changing conditions.
• Integrate development with growth.
• Be in tune and be receptive to the local.
• Use a life-friendly chemistry.

Design principles, or life principles used by nature, are a different way of making objects and interacting with the environment. The obvious negative impact on the environment and on our well-being is largely due to our ways of producing and inhabiting the planet. It is time to re-evaluate the way we design, produce and interact with our environment, and make room for Bioinspired Design. It is also the time to take care of nature so that we can continue to be inspired by it and leave our positive mark on the planet.

In some of the articles I will present technologies inspired by nature. I will tell you what problem was to be solved, and how the answer was sought in living beings. I will describe the design principle that was used and how it was implemented. Many of these technologies have been developed outside of Colombia. Does this mean that we have no biodiversity to draw inspiration from? Nothing could be further from the truth, we are one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. That is why I will share information about Colombian species that can be a source of inspiration for this type of technology.

I hope to awaken more curiosity in this topic and that we think about applications of the design principles of nature in our daily lives.

By Elsa Magnolia Quicazán-Rubio