Yael Helfman Cohen
Some forms and structures repeat in nature, identically or similarly, in places that apparently have nothing in common, at the nanoscale or at the macroscale, and provide benefits and efficiencies, irrespective of their size or material. These structures and their related generic functions are the base of nature structural language. From a biomimetic perspective, these patterns are the reusable solutions used in nature to achieve basic functions.
FINDSTRUCTURE database (www.findstructure.org) is a new biomimetic database that organizes nature design solutions by nature structural patterns. Searching can be performed also by functions or contextual keywords. The database can be used by designers, engineers, scientists, architects, or biologists, who search for design solutions in nature. It provides biological functional solutions, already abstracted per nature
structure-function patterns.
We hereby introduce some of nature structure-function patterns and present how to use the FINDSTRUCTURE database in order to support biomimetic design processes in general and the structural biomimetic design method in particular.
Reference:
[1] Helfman, C.Y., Reich, Y., Greenberg. S., Biomimetics: structure-function patterns approach, Journal of Mechanical Design, 136(11), 111108-1, 2014