Biomimicry — Innovation inspired by nature

Perhaps it is a question of abandoning our anthropocentrism and rescuing the human-nature dictionary in order to be able to translate into natural language the problems and the way in which nature was able to solve them. And thus, once again, bring it back to our plane and interpret the learnings.

What is Biomimicry?

Etymologically, it has Greek origins: bio, meaning ‘life’, and mimesis ‘to imitate’. It is therefore a scientific discipline that consists of emulating the forms, patterns, processes, strategies and principles that exist in nature to create sustainable and efficient solutions in response to human challenges at any scale. It is innovation inspired by nature, pure sustainable innovation. It is also known as biomimetics, biomimicry, and in English it is ‘biomimicry’ (/ˌbaɪ.oʊˈmɪm.ɪ.kri/).

It may seem strange at first glance, but:

Can we learn from the expansion methods of mucilaginous moulds to design collaborative networks?

Can we learn from the way forests manage resources in a decentralised way, functioning as a system?

Who better than the body of the kingfisher to understand the forms with the best air resistance?

Biology and ecology are an inexhaustible and reliable source of circular economy, material innovation, responsible food systems and regenerative products. This discipline of drawing inspiration for innovation and design from nature is called biomimicry.

The current development model is creating serious sustainability problems, compromising our future generations. We need a new paradigm for innovation; learning to look with new eyes. Biomimicry proposes that we consult the greatest R&D laboratory there is, nature, which has been experimenting for 3.8 billion years through trial and error. And since nature has found what works, what is appropriate, what remains on the planet (through a long process of adaptation, evolution and natural selection), the key question we ask when we apply the Biomimetic Method to a problem is: How does nature solve it?

Biomimicry is applicable to all aspects of life, from the design of products and services to team management, business models, architecture, etc. A train designed like a kingfisher's beak is able to reduce its energy consumption by 15% and eliminate noise in tunnels due to its aerodynamics; simple algorithms derived from ant colonies to improve parcel delivery operations; business models based on the natural principle of the circular economy; resilient cities inspired by the functioning of the coral reef ecosystem; an office building with a ventilation system based on termite mounds that uses 90% less energy than a conventional building. These are just a few examples of such innovative interpretations.

There are already numerous success stories, and we can say that the possible applications are almost infinite. Boeing, Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Dupont, FedEx, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, IDEO, NASA, Nike and Philips are some of the entities that are already applying biomimicry as an innovation tool.

At DOT we believe that nature is an indispensable ally when it comes to designing solutions in increasingly complex and unpredictable prospective scenarios. The use of natural patterns for the design, construction and planning of companies, organisation charts, products and services can be a great source of innovation, taking advantage of the oldest and most prolific R&D&I department we know, nature.

Frans Johansson in his book ‘The Medici Effect’ talks about ‘the intersection’ as the place where different cultures, domains and disciplines meet and mix. It is therefore the ideal place to give birth to great novelties. Johansson says that ‘when one enters an intersection of fields, disciplines or cultures, one can combine existing concepts to generate a wealth of extraordinary new ideas’. It's practically a dot. philosophy, where people from different disciplines share knowledge to solve the challenges we face.

To continue advancing in this exciting topic Biomimicry Iberia and dot. started an incredible journey that is taking us to an exciting place where we are learning about the ventilation processes of leaves and their stomata to design bicycle helmets and to study the mouths of camels to imagine new sustainable fabrics for the home (that's it).