Biomimicry+-+Janine+Benyus+and+the+Biomimicry+Institute+and+Guild

===**Look over examples of her biomimetic principles applied to products in the slideshow located at http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/02/0209_green_biomimic/index_01.htm and write a short, one paragraph synopsis for each of your three favorite product designs.** === 
 * Avian Elements – High-Speed Train**

Japan’s 500 Series Shinkansen bullet train has a biometric design that mimics the aerodynamics of an owl and a kingfisher. The quiet, high-speed bullet train emulated the owls’ feathers to by creating “small serrations…[that] were able to reduce the noise generated by the train’s pantograph – the component that connects to overhead electrical wires” (1). The aerodynamic nose of the train emulated the kingfishers’ beak, which allowed “the bird to dive from air into water with a minimal amount of resistance” (1). The overall aerodynamic design of the train is capable of reducing noise pollution by reducing “the sonic boom that occurs when the train passes from a tunnel back into the open air” (1).


 * Skeleton Key – Bone Furniture**

Joris Laarman, an artist based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, designed a furniture line that emulated bone structures. The furniture were partially hollow, yet this form created “a strong, almost architectural matrix of support…[and the] polished aluminum chair was created [by] using [a] software that mimics the process by which bones grow over time” (2). Joris Laarman’s “design approach [had] also inspired improvements in a wide range of products…” (2) such as the development of lighter, yet just as strong, car parts by General Motors.




 * New Plumage – Bio-Inspired Color Displays**

Qualcomm developed a “nature-inspired mirasol display, which conveys color in a manner similar to the way a butterfly shows off its bright colored wings or a peacock displays its plumage” (3). Instead of displaying “pigmented pixels, these displays contain tiny structures that variably reflect light in such a way that specific wavelengths of light interfere with one another to create vivid colors” (3). This type of display can reduce power consumption in “cell phones and other electronics…” (3) and type of display has already been utilized by Audiovox “in its Bluetooth stereo headsets” (3).



(1) http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/02/0209_green_biomimic/source/2.htm (2) http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/02/0209_green_biomimic/source/5.htm (3) http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/02/0209_green_biomimic/index_01.htm