Sturdy and light: that is how nature builds

Shapes of branches or bones do not develop randomly in nature. They are designed to withstand stresses as optimally as possible. As a material, nature uses the composite of fibers and filler.

It’s the skin that does it

The surfaces of animals and plants have amazing properties. The sandfish has unrivaled scratch-resistant scales, the thorn devil can drink from damp sand with its skin.

Many species, many ideas

The basis of bionics is the diversity of species on our planet. The example of the eyes can be used to explain why there are countless variants in the animal kingdom. Diversity of inestimable value to mankind.

In best form as if by magic

Rodents always have sharp teeth, even if they gnaw on hard things every day. How do they do it? Nature uses materials that sharpen, structure, repair themselves….

What are robots learning from people and animals?

Animals serve as models for the motors of modern robots. This is because current technology cannot keep up with the properties of muscles and tendons. The comparison between a spider and a robot illustrates this.

Living biomimetically

Nature shows us how we might live in the future: generating energy according to plant principle, providing shadows like the bird-of-paradise flower, and ventilation along the lines of prairie dogs and termites.

© Alain Herzog | EPFL

Small particles with a great effect

The gecko can stick to the wall by providing skin contact between molecules. Modern bionics is also making advances in the field of nanotechnology.

Organising as cleverly as the ants

Who actually plans the routes of the ants’ roads? Tricks of the ants as models for the route planning of modern logistics companies.

Foto: Geoff Gallice, CC creative commons