Science Daily February 25, 2019 The pygidial glands in Carabid beetles manufacture, store and propel toxic chemicals to ward off insect, amphibian and even small mammalian predators. A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, University of New Hampshire) found that the tissues in the glandular system transporting the defensive chemicals to be rich in soft, rubbery resilin, a compound found in many insects and other arthropods. Resilin is a compound that is likely to be used in future bioengineering and biomedical applications due to its unusual properties. It has many similarities with elastin, a protein found in […]
Tag Archives: Biomimetics
The first walking robot that moves without GPS
Science Daily February 13, 2019 To navigate safely in hostile environment, desert ants assess their direction from the polarized pattern of skylight and judge the distance traveled based on both a stride-counting method and the optic flow. Using this concept a team of researchers in France has designed AntBot equipped with an optical compass used to determine its direction by means of polarized light, and by an optical movement sensor directed to the sun to measure the distance covered. Armed with this information, AntBot was able to explore its environment and to return on its own to its base, with […]
Hydrophobic or hydrophilic? Aero-gallium nitride is both
Physics World February 6, 2019 Biological cell membranes are made up of phospholipid building blocks that both attract and repel water. An international team of researchers (Germany, Moldova, Australia, Italy, UK) developed a nanomaterial exhibiting hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties using nanoscopically thin membranes of gallium nitride shaped as hollow microtetrapods, called aerogalnite (AGaN). The material is extremely porous, mechanically flexible, stretchable, and exhibits hydrophilicity under tension and hydrophobicity when compressed against water. Self-assembling the AGaN tetrapods on water enabled them to develop self-healing waterproof rafts carrying liquid droplets 500-times as heavy as rafts, and to demonstrate self-propelled liquid marbles. Aerogalnite […]
Lotus leaf inspires scientists to create world’s first self-cleaning metals
Nanowerk January 7, 2019 Taking their ideas from defense mechanisms found in plants such as the lotus leaf an international team of researchers (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, UK) has developed the first fluid-repellent, antibacterial, metal surface. Using high-power laser cutting devices they created microscopic ‘spikes’ and ‘ridges’ in sheet metal, causing liquids to ‘bounce off’ the rough micro-topography that mimics the surface of the lotus leaf. The process is useful for medical cutting tools, sterile surfaces, dishwashers, or even saucepans…read more.
Nanofiber carpet could lead to new sticky or insulating surfaces
Phys.org November 14, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (University of Michigan. University of Wisconsin, Cornell University) has shown that chemical vapor polymerization can be performed on surfaces coated with thin films of liquid crystals to synthesize organized assemblies of end-attached polymer nanofibers. Their process uses low concentrations of radical monomers formed initially in the vapor phase and then diffused into the liquid-crystal template. This minimizes monomer-induced changes to the liquid-crystal phase and enables access to nanofiber arrays with complex yet precisely defined structures and compositions and permits tailoring of a wide range of functional properties – coatings […]
New composite material that can cool itself down under extreme temperatures
Science Daily October 26, 2018 Researchers in the UK used a network of multiple microchannels with active flowing fluids as a method and proof of concept to develop a thermally-functional material made of a synthetic polymer. Through modulating volumetric flow rates, they manipulated fluid-material interface for heat transport within a microfluidic platform. The material is enhanced with precise control measures that can switch conductive states to manage its own temperature in relationship to its environment. The research will result in an advanced material that can absorb high solar radiation, as the human body can do, to cool itself autonomously whatever […]
Insect-Inspired Vision System Helps Drones Pass Through Small Gaps
IEEE Spectrum September 11, 2018 Insects are quite good at not running into things, and just as good at running into things and surviving, but targeted, accurate precision flight is much more difficult for them. Reliable and not taking much to execute is one way to summarize the focus of the next generation of practical robotics. Researchers at the University of Maryland has developed a system that allows a drone to fly through very small and completely unknown gaps using a single camera and onboard processing. The drone has no information about the location or size of the gap in […]
Researchers invent tiny, resealable packets to deliver materials on cue
Phys.org May 10, 2018 Tiny capsules deliver signaling molecules from place to place in the body. Using this concept, a team of researchers in the US (UMass Amherst, University of Chicago) designed a hollow synthetic packet made of a double layer of two polymers: The outer rind is water-soluble, while the inner layer is a glassy material that forms a rigid wall. The two polymers are linked by a single molecule that responds to light by changing its shape. When you shine light on the packet, the linking molecules change shape, softening the glassy material that sits below and allowing […]
Honeybees may unlock the secrets of how the human brain works
Science Daily March 27, 2018 An international team of researchers (UK, Italy) studied a theoretical model of how honeybees decide where to build their nest and viewed the bee colony as a single superorganism which displays a coordinated response to external stimuli — similar to the human brain. Such behavior, suggests that these laws arise from fundamental mechanisms of information processing and decision-making. Studying superorganisms such as bee colonies is much simpler than watching brain neurons in action when a decision is being made…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Microengineered slippery rough surface for water harvesting in air
Nanowerk March 30, 2018 A team of researchers in the US (Pennsylvania State University, UT Dallas) developed a pitcher plant-inspired slippery surface with hydrophilic chemistry. They added the directional grooves and gave the new surface a microscale roughness that increased the surface area. The rate of water and fog harvesting are directly proportional to the amount of surface area on which droplets can form. The rice leaves-inspired grooves whisk the water droplets away through capillary action or gravity. If the slippery rough surface (SRS) material is produced at scale, they estimate that over 120 liters of water can be collected […]