Biomimicry is a discipline that has long interested scientists. Although it was first introduced by George de Mestral who used the technology to imitate the action of a burr sticking to his dogs’ fur, thus patenting velcro in 1955. Since then, biomimicry has caught the eye of many across several disciplines. From the army using biomimicry for camouflage purposes, athletes using shark’s skin technology to give themselves an advantage in the water, to designers using innovative ideas from nature to put products on the runway, biomimicry has become the backbone to numerous new technologies.
The specific example of Herman Miller’s Quilty textile given in the above article follows the practices of de Mestral set forth over a half century ago. Engineering textiles on a molecular level to mimic that of a lotus leaf in its ability to resist water absorption is a feat in and of itself; moreover, innovation of this magnitude in the field of biomimicry is immeasurable.

Until a few weeks ago, I wasn’t aware of the significance of biomimicry, or even its concept. However, the idea that nature has already solved dilemmas we struggle to deal with today is quite intriguing. An article I came across introduces a new technology in helmets. Eighty percent of fatal motorcycle crashes are due to head trauma; the rough shell of a typical helmet does not provide the function of protection that needs to be implemented into our safety system. Yet, a new innovation has been devised based on biomimicry that could potentially save lives. ‘Superskin Helmet’ is made of comfort padding, inner lining, and a shell, just as every other helmet, but added in an outer membrane that will stretch and slide to protect the head from harsh forces. There is a layer of lubricant between the membrane and shell to better imitate the best helmet that nature has already invented: the skin on a human’s skull.
Students in the Textile Features program at Central St. Martins have invested time designing textiles that were inspired by nature. One of which is a print that reacts to the body’s emotions, the print will blend in with its surroundings when the wearer feels self-conscious and become bold when the wearer wants to be noticed, much as a chameleon does. Another student designed a crocheted project, ‘Symatic Symbiosis’ in which the textile harvests kinetic energy and creates electricity when manipulated. This causes floral patterns to grow as more energy is generated. The textile looks as if you were watching a garden bloom, analyzing every flower as it grows with its cluster. Researchers at the University of Arkansas designed another interesting textile I came across. They have developed a smart textile in which sensors can monitor the wearer’s cardiac signs and relay the information with doctors, no matter where the wearer is located at the time.
Biomimicry can play a huge part in our future , looking towards nature’s past to help with present innovations. This discipline is a creative, efficient way of solving problems we encounter daily. Who knew that nature knew best all along!

Biomimicry is “innovation inspired by nature.” An example would be studying a leaf to invent a better solar cell. Biomimicry is made up of three things; Model, Measure, and Mentor. A model is using nature to solve problems of mankind. By measure, nature has learned what will work and what will last. A new way viewing and valuing nature is referred to as mentor. We are looking for what we can learn from the natural world and not what we can extract from it. The more we let our world function like the natural world, the longer our world will last and grow.
From reading about Biomimicry, I have learned that this world has taken a lot from the natural world around us. We learned to fly by studying birds. We learned to make swimsuits to increase speed by studying sharks. Swiss Engineer George de Mestral invented Velcro. He studied burrs that were stuck to his dog.
Turbine came from research on whales and paint from the lotus flowers.
Biomimicry is very important to the functioning world. It has helped scientists/ engineers create new ideas. Without Biomimicry we wouldn’t have as much advanced products produced today.