From tiny robobees to impressive architectural marvels, here are 10 inventions inspired by
insects….
10.
Robobee
First unveiled in 2013, Harvard’s Robobee project is still being continuously developed.
At its core is a simple idea, it’s a miniature drone influenced by designs found in the insect
world.
Weighing just 175 mg, (that’s 14 times lighter than a penny), it looks almost delicate as
you can see in this picture from Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
But don’t let that fool you.
The 30 mm wingspan of the Robobee makes it the smallest man-made device based on an insect
that's managed to achieve flight, but to reach this point required more than 12 years of
research.
With elements constructed on the submillimeter scale, designers had to make do without basic
building blocks such as rotary motors, gears, nuts, and bolts… because they aren't viable
at such a small size.
They also had to design a way to allow the Robobee to react very quickly to overcome
the massive effects that turbulence has on small objects, and to do this they designed
a system of artificial muscles that can beat the wings at more than 120 times per second.
At first, the bots could just take off, fly, and land.
But now they can stick to surfaces, swim underwater, and can even dive in and out of water which
is a huge challenge for a tiny little robot!
The force caused by surface tension is about 10 times the robots weight, so the Harvard
scientists added a tiny combustible rocket!
The ultimate aim for the Robobee is to enable the miniature robots to operate in swarms,
which could be invaluable in search and rescue missions, surveillance, or even as artificial
pollinators!
9.
Anti Reflective Film
Moths have developed a number of ingenious adaptations to enable them to survive, and
scientists are taking inspiration from them to develop new technologies.
In particular, there's a water repellent coating on their eyes that allows them to see at night,
while being one of the least reflective surfaces seen anywhere in nature.
This means that they're virtually invisible to predators at night, but there's a range
of ways that this can be useful.
A team in Japan studied the nanostructure of this coating and used it on solar cells,
which improves their efficiency by capturing more solar radiation rather than losing what's
normally reflected off typical panels.
It's now also being used on digital devices, such as smartphones and tablets, which make
them easier to look at when out in sunlight.
In tests, these coated surfaces reflect 0.23 percent of the light in comparison to the
4.4 percent that's reflected by the screens of typical smartphones.
Utilizing this technology will, therefore, virtually eliminate the problems of glare
on screens, and mean that no matter where you are, you'll be able to easily look at
your device without having to awkwardly rotate it to find the best angle.
And in general all these screens could be better for our eyes in the future.
And now for number 8, but first be sure to subscribe if you are new here and let me know
what topics you would like me to cover in the future in the comments below!!
8.
The Dew Bank Water Bottle
A beetle found in the Namibian desert, known as the ony-macris ungui-cularis, finds itself
in an incredibly dry environment, so it has developed a unique way of collecting water.
Early in the morning while fog covers the sand dunes, the beetle climbs to high points
and positions itself in a way that encourages dew to collect for it to drink.
Designers have taken this principle to create the ‘Dew Bank Water Bottle', which allows
people in arid environments to collect water from places where it was impossible to do
so before.
Made from stainless steel, the device is naturally colder than the surrounding air, which causes
water to condense and collect on it.
It has an uneven surface to create a larger surface area for moisture to collect around,
and it's all guided to a base where filters prevent contaminants from entering.
The designers hope to provide the Dew Bank Water Bottle across water-poor environments
to allow people to collect fresh water far more easily, and it could have a major impact
on the quality of life in these regions… all thanks to a small beetle!
7.
facetVISION Camera
The face of photography is changing with the prevalence of smartphones that are equipped
with powerful cameras, but they’re about to get a whole lot better.
Much of the thickness of a smartphone is dictated by the size of the camera lens, which are
typically no smaller than 5mm.
But what if this could be reduced to just 2mm?
Well, a team of designers has come up with a camera based upon the eyes of insects, that
can do just that.
Known as the facetVISION flat camera, it is actually made up of 135 tiny lenses, with
the images they capture being combined together to create the final picture.
This is just like what happens in the eyes of some insects, like flies, and enables them
to see much better than would otherwise be expected with an eye of the same size.
With further inspiration from the insect world, micro-electronics will become smaller and
smaller, allowing even more to be packed into our devices.
6.
Antenna
There’s a species of small parasitic fly, called the Ormia ochracea, which has an incredibly
strong sense of hearing.
The females have developed this ability to allow them to effectively track male crickets
by listening out for their chirping and then laying their eggs on them.
Unfortunately for the crickets, when the eggs hatch their larvae use their host as their
first meal, but that’s a more gruesome story for another day.
Scientists have been studying this hearing ability, and have used it as inspiration for
a new range of small antennae.
The difficulty with antenna design is that its size must be comparable to the wavelength
of a frequency that it’s transmitting or receiving, and many devices require the ability
to distinguish signals coming from precise directions.
Designing miniature antennas is, therefore, extremely challenging, but the directional
and efficiency of the ormia ochracea’s hearing could hold the solution.
Prototypes have already been made, and if the project is a success it could open up
a whole new realm of micro-antennas that would improve and miniaturize our devices.
5.
Mirasol Low Voltage Display
E-readers began life using e-ink that was limited to certain colors and had readability
issues in sunlight so it was a natural step to look at new ways to improve their ability…
and to do this, designers took inspiration from the animal kingdom- in particular, butterflies.
You'll have seen that the colors on the wings on some species of butterfly appear to shimmer
in the light.
This is due to the arrangement of small scales.
The next generation of e-readers will replicate this technique, but by using pixels instead
of scales.
Qualcomm's Mirasol displays were the first to do this, and used tiny moving reflective
surfaces to change the color of each pixel, which allows a much wider color palette to
be used and no issues with reading in sunlight… while, at the same time, using less power
so the battery life is extended.
With quicker refresh rates, too, the technology inspired by butterflies is able to show images
quicker, and even show video!
4.
The Dragonfly
As designers plan the buildings of the future, they need to take sustainability and eco-consciousness
into account.
One plan (of many) created by the Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has taken inspiration
from the design of the dragonfly to achieve these aims.
Known as the Dragonfly, these buildings are based around two main towers that are symmetrically
arranged over 132 stories.
The towers are connected by a giant greenhouse that helps with the structural integrity of
the building, and also means enough produce can be grown to fully sustain the people within
the offices and homes of the tower.
The wings, based on those of dragonflies, are where the plant and animal farms are located
and provide just the right weather conditions for optimal production.
Furthermore, the space between the wings traps warm air to heat the entire structure when
it's cold, and use the plants and natural ventilation to cool the building during the
summer.
The designer behind the dragonfly hopes that it will, one day, be built in New York City…
but even if such a novel concept has a place on the skyline, it’s almost certain that
many elements of the design will soon become commonplace.
3.
Honeycomb Tires
For the most part, tires that rely on being filled by air work perfectly fine, but what
if there was an alternative solution?
Spurred on by difficulties faced by military vehicles where even ‘run flat' tires don't
work very well, Resilient Technologies and Wisconsin-Madison's Polymer Engineering Centre
realized that a honeycomb design was ideal.
The shape is perfect for bees and gives strength to the hive and a large surface area for the
production of honey.
Incorporating this design into wheels gives a number of benefits… they don’t need
to be filled with air, they evenly spread the load, and can support large weights.
Versions have been designed that are bullet and bomb proof, so are ideal for military
use… the only reason why they aren't used in civilian vehicles is that the ride isn't
as comfortable.
Once this is overcome, honeycomb tires could well be the way of the future!
2.
Microneedle
People with aichmophobia are scared of sharp objects, such as needles… but even if you
don't have the phobia, getting an injection can be a rather unpleasant experience.
This is partly because of the procedure taking place, but also because of the size of needle
that’s being inserted.
But what if the needle could be much smaller?
That’s what researchers are hoping will be the case after taking inspiration from
our friend, the Mosquito.
The pesky insects have a highly serrated proboscis that they use to pierce and take blood.
This uneven surface means that they don't touch as many nerves in the skin, and is why
the initial bite is relatively pain-free.
Japanese micro-engineers have used this knowledge to create needles that are just 1mm long,
and have a diameter of just 0.1mm, which is a fraction of the needles typically used for
treatments.
If this research can lead to the mass production of needles of this size, it’ll change healthcare
as we know it.
1.
Mondo Spider Electric Vehicle
This brings us to probably the coolest invention to have ever been built… the Mondo Spider
Electric Vehicle.
It was originally built by a team from Vancouver for Burning Man in 2006 but has recently been
retrofitted to remove the petrol engine and replace it with a 5kWh (Kilowatt hour) Lithium
Ion battery.
The entire vehicle weighs 1600 pounds, is five feet tall and eight feet long.
The skull topped throttles control the hydraulic powered arms, with a control system based
on what you’d find in a tractor.
Pushing both throttles forward moves it forward, pulling them back moves it backward, and pushing
one forward and one back makes it turn.
The ominous looking vehicle isn’t exactly the fastest, reaching speeds of just under
3 miles per hour, and has a maximum range of about 10 miles.
While this is hardly the quietest, most discreet, or efficient way to travel, it’s undoubtedly
one of the most impressive vehicles to have ever been designed, all thanks to the inspiration
taken from a spider.
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