Phys.org June 8, 2021 Researchers in the UK have developed the concept of the evotype to help biological engineers both harness, design, and capture the evolutionary potential of a biosystem. The evotype can be broken into three key parts: Variation, Function, and Selection, with each of these offering a tuning knob for bioengineers to control the possible paths available to evolution. Many of the tools already available to bioengineers fitted nicely into their framework when considered from an evolutionary perspective. Their concept of the evotype not only provides a means for developing biotechnologies that can harness evolution in new ways, […]
Tag Archives: Biomimetics
Researcher uses bat-inspired design to develop new approach to sound location
Science Daily April 15, 2021 Inspired by the bat ears, researchers at Virginia Tech designed a soft-robotic sensor that mimics fast non-rigid deformation of the ears in bats. They placed the ear above a microphone, creating a mechanism similar to that of a bat. The fast motions of the fluttering outer ear of the bat created Doppler shift signatures. To interpret this complex pattern, they trained a computer to provide the source direction associated with each received echo using deep neural network. Once the direction of the sound was determined, the control computer would rotate the rig so that the […]
Wafer-thin nanopaper changes from firm to soft at the touch of a button
Science Daily March 24, 2021 Mimicking the sea cucumbers which adapt and strengthen their tissue so that their soft exterior immediately stiffens when attacked by predators, researchers in Germany have developed a mechanism to strengthen and stiffen a material using electric current. They developed cellulose nanofibrils/polymer nanopapers with tailor-made interactions by deposition of thin single-walled carbon nanotube electrode layers for Joule heating. Application of DC at specific voltages translates into significant electrothermal softening via dynamization and breakage of the thermo-reversible supramolecular bonds. The altered mechanical properties are reversibly switchable in power on/power off cycles. Currently a power source is needed […]
An intelligent soft material that curls under pressure or expands when stretched
Nanowerk February 24, 2021 Existing perceptive soft actuators require complex integration and coupling between the discrete functional units to achieve autonomy and intelligently interact with humans and the environment. Researchers in China have developed actuators with embodied sensing, actuation, and control at the single-unit level by synergistically harnessing the mechanosensing and electrothermal properties of liquid metal (LM) to actuate the thermally responsive liquid crystal elastomer (LCE). They created multifunctional LM circuits on the LCE surface using a simple and facile methodology based on magnetic printing. The fluidic LM circuit can be utilized as a conformable resistive heater, and a sensory […]
Active camouflage artificial skin in visible-to-infrared range
Phys.org December 2, 2020 Researchers in South Korea have developed a multispectral imperceptible skin that enables human skin to actively blend into the background both in the IR‐visible integrated spectrum only by simple temperature control with active cooling and heating. The thermochromic layer on the outer surface of the device, which produces various colors based on device surface temperature, expands the cloaking range to the visible spectrum and ultimately completes day‐and‐night stealth platform simply by controlling device temperature. In addition, the scalable pixelization of the device allows localized control of each autonomous pixel, enabling the artificial skin surface to adapt […]
Bioinspired metagel with broadband tunable impedance matching
Phys.org November 10, 2020 The concept of impedance matching has been established in electrical, acoustic, and optical engineering to maximize energy transmission from a source through a media. However, existing design of acoustic impedance matching, which extends exactly by a quarter wavelength, sets a fundamental limit of narrowband transmission. An international team of researchers (China, USA – MIT, Harvard University, Duke University, South Korea, Denmark, Canada, Scotland, Germany) has shown that a class of bioinspired metagel impedance transformers can overcome this limit. The transformer embeds a two-dimensional metamaterial matrix of steel cylinders into hydrogel. Using experimental data of the biosonar […]
Power-free system harnesses evaporation to keep items cool
MIT News November 11, 2020 A camel’s coat, or a person’s clothing, can help to reduce loss of moisture while at the same time allowing enough sweat evaporation to provide a cooling effect. Tests have showed that a shaved camel loses 50 percent more moisture than an unshaved one, under identical conditions. Researchers at MIT have developed a system with a two-layer material with the bottom layer, substituting for sweat glands. It consists of hydrogel, a gelatin-like substance that consists mostly of water, contained in a sponge-like matrix from which the water can easily evaporate. This is covered with an […]
A flexible color-changing film inspired by chameleon skin (w/video)
Nanowerk October 21, 2020 By tensing or relaxing their skin, chameleons can change the way light reflects from guanine crystals under the surface, producing structural coloration. The structural colors are different from the pigments that give many other creatures their hues. Currently available materials for mimicking chameleon skin is difficult to produce. Researchers in China introduced a flexible network structure in cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), exerting a bridge effect for the rigid nanomaterials. These films display high flexibility with a fracture strain of up to 39%. Notably, stretching-induced structural color changes visible to the naked eye are realized, for the first […]
Materials scientists discover design secrets of nearly indestructible insect
Nanowerk October 21, 2020 The ironclad beetle is one formidable insect which has an exoskeleton that is one of the toughest, most crush-resistant structures known to exist in the biological world. An international team of researchers (USA – UC Riverside, Purdue University, UT San Antonio, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Irvine, Japan) used advanced microscopy, spectroscopy and in situ mechanical testing, and identified multiscale architectural designs within the exoskeleton of the beetle, and examined the resulting mechanical response and toughening mechanisms. They highlighted a series of interdigitated sutures, the ellipsoidal geometry and laminated microstructure which provide mechanical interlocking and toughening […]
Researchers use flying insects to drop sensors from air, land them safely on the ground
TechXplore October 8, 2020 In addition to the challenges of achieving low-power consumption and long-range communication, airdropping wireless sensors is difficult because it requires the sensor to survive the impact when dropped in mid-air. Researchers at the University of Washington designed insect-scale wireless sensors that come fully integrated with an onboard power supply and a lightweight mechanical actuator to detach from the aerial platform. The 37 mg mechanical release mechanism can drop the sensor during flight, using only 450 μJ of energy as well as a wireless communication link that can transmit sensor data at 33 kbps up to 1 […]