Biomimicracy: Borrowing from Nature

In a recent article at CNN, they discuss the fundamental principles of biomimicracy. Biomimicracy is the new idea that turning to nature and copying her designs is the way of the future. Janine Benyus, a key note speaker at this year's Front End of Innovation Conference, coined the term in 1997. Recently, German botanists observed the way the lotus plant's leaves were drying, which inspired them to create a faster drying process in paint. Professor Julian Vincent of Bath University calculated that when continuing to work on a project and turning to engineering, there would be a 12% increase in energy use while turning to biology and observing only lead to an increase of energy by 5%. Janine Benyus concluded the article saying, 'Doing it nature's way," she says "has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business." In observing the natural world around us, we can obtain numerous benefits and advancements that may take so much more time in traditional research and development. But better yet, what we can learn in observing the world around us now could help us to save the planet itself.