Skrevet af Lan Thuy Pham, 3. september 2010

The first GREEN presentation is about biomemetics, a relative newly coined concept that describes methods in which technologies etc. mimic the nature. The two speakers point out that nature is the world's largest and oldest R&D division with 3.8 billion years of trial and error.
One of the most classic examples of biomemetics is the invention of Velcro. George de Mestral was out hunting with his dog. He noticed tiny burrs that had attached to the dog's fur. When he studied them under microscope, he noticed the tiny hoops at the burr seed. He later used this inspiration for designing Velcro. After NASA began to use it, the use of Velcro became widespread. Today, it is one of the most successful biomemetics businesses.
Only a fraction of species have exploited nature's extensive R&D division, humans being one of them. The introduction of nanoscience and other recent advances in science has allowed scientists to study the nature on a whole new scale. At the same time, it is getting increasingly easier to imitate nature. Biomemetics can lead to less consumption of resources and more intelligent energy solutions because nature's solution generally uses less resources than human solutions.
However, biomemetics still lack a common and public awareness and a better understanding of a lot of phenomenas are still needed. For instance, of the approximated 5 - 30 mio. species on Earth, only 1.5 mio. have been named.
The speakers present four cases where biomemetics have been used. The first case is about a building in Zimbabwe that is constructed without a conventional AC system. Instead, the engineers looked for inspiration from termites. Termites are some of nature's best builders compared to their size. They rely on a special fungus that grows inside the  termite mounds as their primary food source. In the African savanna, the temperature tends to change a lot. The fungus has to grow at exact 30 degree Celsius and so the termites have constructed the mound so the temperature inside remains constant despite the temperature changes outside. About USD 3 mio. was saved by constructing a ventilation system with inspiration from the termite mound and the system is currently being used in buildings in Sweden and Australia as well.
Another example is the sharkskin swimsuit that was introduced at the Olympics in 2000. 28 of 33 gold medals were won by swimmers wearing the sharkskin swimsuit. One of the speakers rips open his shirt and takes of his pants. He is wearing the swimsuit underneath his clothes and walks down through the audience to model it.
The two last cases are about how engineers used the shape of the kingfisher's head to reduce the sonic boom that passengers on Japanese high speed bullet trains experience when exiting a tunnel and how the lotus effect is used in paint so buildings don't get dirty so easily.
The next big leap for biomemetics is to expand to corporations. The area can provide elegant solution that are more cost and energy effective while being more elegantly designed.

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