So what happens when biology meets engineering?  Possibly some of the coolest technology advances your eyes have ever seen!

Bio-mimicry (a.k.a. bio-inspiration) is when engineers and scientists look to nature for ideas.  Whether it’s making a crab-like robot to traverse the ocean floor or a robot designed to mimic a cockroach in scurrying across the surface of Mars, bio-inspiration is helping scientists and engineers invent by letting evolution do the quality assurance.

Locally, U.C. Berkeley biologists and engineers are developing an uber-adhesive based on a gecko’s feet.  Well, adhesive isn’t entirely accurate.  A gecko has millions of tiny hair-like structures on its toe pads.  When a gecko drags its foot along a surface those microscopic hairs are attracted to the surface by molecular forces called “van der Waals force.”  So really a gecko bonds with the surface at a molecular level.

Bio-inspiration seems like a great way for scientists to invent.  Millions of years of evolution have created some of the most interesting and amazing methods of locomotion, medication, and even environmental clean up.  Not to mention, watching a robotic gecko climb straight up a glass wall looks unbelievably cool.

This story was created from a fantastic piece that our partners at KQED’s Quest originally produced.

-Ty

 

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