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Biomimicry, which literally translates to “imitation of the living,” is the practice of taking inspiration from the natural world and applying it to human challenges in order to create sustainable solutions.
As evidenced by millions of years of natural selection, nature has carefully fine-tuned its strategies and patterns. Take, for example:
- Mountain Stone Wetas, the world’s largest freeze-tolerant insect, capable of freezing 80% of its body tissues for months at a time to survive drastic temperature changes.
- Tardigrades (water bears), widely considered to be the toughest creatures on the planet. They have evolved to be able to live for a decade without food and water, endure temperatures close to zero and hotter than boiling water, and withstand radiation 1,000 times the lethal dose to humans.
- Birds of prey, such as eagles and falcons, with eyes capable of creating highly detailed images that far exceed the limits of the human eye.
- North American Wood Frogs, which gradually let up to 65% of its body completely freeze in winter months.
With superpowers like these, it’s unsurprising that researchers seek to apply lessons from nature to human endeavors, including smartphone design.
“Biomimicry offers an empathetic, interconnected understanding of how life works and ultimately where we fit in,” explains the Biomimicry Institute. “The goal is to create products, processes, and policies — new ways of living — that solve our greatest design challenges sustainably and in solidarity with all life on earth.”
To date, biomimicry has been used in the creation and storing of electricity, developing lightweight and effective computing parts, and building sustainable body armor. Scientists are exploring octopus-inspired robots that can pick fresh produce from trees with minimal damage. Medical facilities and hospitals are investigating the antimicrobial properties of sharkskin, which prevents bacteria from latching onto surfaces. New bridges and buildings are constructed with self-repairing features inspired by insects and reptiles.
How Biomimicry Is Used in Smartphone Development
To advance smartphone development, researchers are leveraging biomimicry for everything from batteries and cameras to coatings and microphones.
The list of natural-world components likely to inspire the smartphone of the future is a little reminiscent of the Witches’ most famous chant in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat, and tongue of dog, etc.). But the process involves a little more than throwing ingredients into a cauldron and casting a spell.
1. High-quality Camera Lenses
As previously acknowledged, humans are not known for their sharp eyesight. In fact, beetles, dragonflies, owls, and even goats have better eyesight. Scientists and technology developers have long been exploring what the eyeballs of certain animals can teach us about lenses.
The compound eyeballs of fire ants and bark beetles, for example, have almost 200 separate optical units, which not only gives them a wide-angle view but also an infinite depth of field. The study of these eyeballs has led researchers to the development of small hemispherical cameras with 180 microlenses. This lens produces a clear 160° frame, which is more than double an iPhone X’s lens.
2. Longer-lasting Batteries
Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed a cheap, biodegradable, and high-energy battery that runs on sugar and has been hailed as an ideal natural energy source.
Another team of researchers, at SUNY Binghamton, have created a sugar battery from paper and exoelectrogens (a type of bacteria capable of transferring electrons outside of their cells). This battery has a shelf life of four months, which makes it ideal for use in small devices in remote areas where power is scarce, as well as in smartphones.
3. Waterproof Coating
Ohio State University researchers identified similarities between butterfly wings and roof shingles. Both feature grooves that help drain water off their surfaces. They applied a similar texture to a coated plastic surface and noted it became much easier to keep clean. Applied to a smartphone screen, this coating will repel water, dust, and dirt.
4. Regenerating Screens
Nancy Sottos from The University of Illinois was the first person to introduce self-healing plastics. The plastic is embedded with a healing resin, which is triggered when a repair is needed. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania State University has developed a plastic polymer whose healing capabilities are triggered by water, heat, and pressure. The polymer was inspired by squid teeth, which can heal cracks by reconnecting hydrogen bonds.
5. Sound-isolating Mic
Insects like crickets and mosquitoes use the tiny hairs on their bodies to detect the direction of sound waves. This allows them to isolate certain noises and filter out others. Startup Sounskrit has developed hardware to emulate this process, measuring the particle velocity of incoming sound waves. This will prove useful for speech recognition software, like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa.
Image Credit: Linas T / Shutterstock
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