Denmark

Finland

Sweden

Norway

Iceland

1

Greenland

Faroe Islands

Åland

Biomimicry in the Nordic CountriesSustainability through inspiration from nature

Torben Lenau, Lilli Linkola and Anna Maria Orrù

2

Biomimicry: Nature & sustainability

3

Bio-terms

Image Credit: Orrù/Lenau 2018

4

Biomimetics – using natures principles

Image credit: KISSpng.com Image credit: Trillist.com

5

Sustainable aircrafts?

Image credit: voanews.com

6

Sustainable aircrafts?

image credit: https://www.westpacrescuetas.com.au

Growing interest in the field

― # published biomimetics papers in ISI Web of Science. search terms ‘biomim*’, ‘bionic*’ and ‘biologically inspired’

The bars: the number of published biomimetics papers The line: the proportion of papers / all published papers

Sourc

e: D

TU

Mekanik

, fluid

mechanik

cs

Image c

redits: w

ww

.em

pero

rpenguin

facts

.com

,bbc.c

o.u

k,

DT

U c

ours

e41084 2

017 g

roup

15

8

BiomimicryPenguins increase speed drastically by releasing air bubbles from under the feathers

9

Biomimicry: Össur cheetah inspired flexfood prosthetic blades

Image credits: ossur.com & sciencemag.org

10

Biomimicry: The olympic swimmer Jeanette Ottesen used light therapy in Rio in collaborationwith DTU Photonics.

Image credit: Jakob Hildebrandt Andersen

11

Biomimicrynight vision – humans can’t see colours at night

12

Biomimicrynight vision – humans can’t see colours at night

rod:light intensity

cone:colours

Image credit: wikipedia.org

13

BiomimicryMegalopta genalis – nocturnal sweat bee - finds its way in very dim light utilizing spatiotemporal summation

Image credit: Eric Warrent, Lund University

Biomimicry frontrunners in the Nordics

Project background: o Nordic Council of Ministers, Working Group for Sustainable Consumption and Production

(SCP) – Nordic frontrunners in biomimicryo Method

broad search for people and organisations working with biomimicry, bioinspiration and for sustainability/CE.

questionaire mailed to potential candidateso Results: more than 100 organisations and 100 professionals listed in a stakeholder map.

Stakeholder Map of Actors in Biomimicry or Bio-related Fields in the Nordics and in the EU

Image: Print screen of the stakeholdermap

https://kumu.io/Linkola/frontrunners-in-biomimicry-in-the-nordics

Categories of Findings

Actors and Activities in the Nordics

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden Total

Nu

mb

er

of

acto

rs

Biomimicry

Biomimetics

Bioinspiration, bioinspired,nature-inspired

Circular economy

18

Opportunities for Green Business Development

0 2 4 6 8 10

Consulting

Food production

Water and sanitation

Urban planning, architecture and building design

Chemical engineering

Aerospace engineering

Biomedical applications and biomedical technology

Fashion and textiles

Product development

Materials development

Number of actors in industry sector

Findings

o A majority of the bioinspired and bio-related work within university research and development (biomimetics), The largest industrial impact is within companies thatdirectly can benefit from mimicing biological functionality like biochemistry, pharmaceuticals and biomechanics.

o Academic Research and Development - many universities

o Industry - wastewater treatment, water production and HVAC areas, Bio-chemical and Pharmaceutical companies (biochemistry), Robotic and automation companies(biomechanics), Industrial symbiosis groups, Architecture (circular economy and recycling), IT (search algorithms).

o Training – University courses, museums, industrial courses, both private and public sectors

o Forums and Innovation Platforms - many with narrow scope

o Bio-inspiration and sustainability/CE in seperate groups

The European Sceneo Two families of bioinspired communities

o Four countries lead Biomimetic-inspired fields: Germany, UK, Switzerland, and France.

o Germany - biomimetic networks already appeared in the early 2000’s

o UK - earliest involved in the field of biomimetics

o Switzerland – a dynamics in biomimetics (NCCR).

o France - the largest networks in Europé

o Diverse platforms bringing together actors and activities

Biomimicry in the Nordics: SWOT -Analyses

Strengths Weaknesses

• Connection with nature in Nordic Countries• Diverse ongoing research activities and university education• Growing interest • Existing successful Nordic examples in business

• biomimicry needs investment - time, money, education etc.• no shortcuts towards sustainability • Biologists are not present• Research in biomimetics not always sustainable

Opportunities Threats

• a truly sustainable society• Holistic approach (form, process & system)• Crossdisciplinary• Transdisciplinary• Nature as a solutions and knowledge bank• Constant learning and expansion• Inexhaustible knowledge bank (3.8 billion years R&D)• interest and opportunity to join nature and sustainable

• Competing methodologies • Silo-thinking, narrow-minded use. • Confusion in terminology, misuse, misunderstood• Unsustainable processes assessing sustainability (LCA. etc)• Lack of Political /public sector support• Lack of funding• Not enough training or leadership• Use of the term as a trend

Recommendations for the SCP/HKP

22

o Nordic Centre and Summit 2019

o Distribute report

o Continuation for the online presence/stakeholder mapping

o Clearer definitions and avoid binary relation

o Support for the transdisciplinary process

o Funding (academia and industry)

o Education platform for opportunities

o Biomimicry promotion and support for industry (platforms)

Short-term Recommendations

Long-term Recommendations

Biomimicry – opportunities for sustainabilityUnique opportunities in biomimicry:o Nature has been there for 3.8 billion years – it works!o Nature is a combination of unique individual species and complex systemso Nature is very resilient and adaptive to changeso Development work on strategic and operational levels o Cross disciplinary collaboration (broader view on possible solutions)

The expertise is availableo Large numbers of highly skilled biologists existo Expertice and well proven methods exist: • Biomimicry institute (tools, asknature)• University research & expertise • University courses• Industrial courses and consultancy

24

Biomimicry – Methods & Tools

31, 2 4 5, 61

2

3

4

5

6

The Design SpiralBiomimicry Institute

The Biocard MethodTechnical University of Denmark

25

Biomimicry – Methods & Tools

Asknature taxonomy & search toolBiomimicry Institute

Biocard abstraction toolTechnical University of Denmark

4 box and T-chart problem anaylsis toolGeorgia Tech

Operational Environment

Function

SpecificationsPerformance

Criteria 1 D

efin

e2

Dis

cove

r

4 A

bst

ract

Biomimicry at DTU: Course 41084

Biomimicry example: Sanitation – a new way

Organisers of the strategic workshop:DTU: Good use of a design tool (Biomimcry) – Christina Okai Majborn & Torben Lenau.Index award: People and tools that solve global problems that matter (sanitation).WTO: Sanitation in in developing countries

Design brief: A BOP sanitation solution based on separation principles. The solutions should be a product to buy or lease (25$ goal). Design branding, product and business model.

Research questions: (1) is it possible to handle a taboo topic in a public workshop? (2) how to stage and frame such a workshop with a taboo topic? (3) how to stimulate the creative idea generation using design tools like biomimicry?

Biomimicry – sanitation (1) handling of taboo topic

Break the ice: Split people into small groups, give them a specific task so they are forced to talk about the topic. Continue to make small presentations in plenum.Define an acceptable terminology: Sanitation/toilet/bathroom, defecate, urine, faeces, the act

Brainstorm on questions related to the urge, first impression, the act and after the act

Biomimicry – sanitation (2) staging the workshop

Visualisation highly important: - Posters and physical artefacts worksPeoples background crucial:- Discussion vs. Create solutions- Drawing and model building require previous experience (important to have designers in each team)

Physical artefacts: A separation dry toilet

Boxes illustrating amount of waste

Posters describing problem and context

Biomimicry – sanitation (3) stimulate creative idea generation

2 biomimetic analogies were used- instruction crucial- focus on problems to solve

Peoples background:- visual and spatial design skillsessential

Inspiration cards

Solution inspired by bird chicks wrapping technique

Biomimetic analogies to toilet problems

Biomimetic analogies to toilet problems

In conclusion

o Biomimicry: Inspiration from nature offers valuable input and inspiration for sustainabilityo There is a growing interest for biomimicry (academic papers & patents)o Examples of biomimicry shows sustainability improvement potentialo Survey of biomimicry frontrunners in the Nordics: About 100 organisations and 100 person identified Mainly academics but also many industries Range of different industrial fields Challenge: weak coupling between biological and sustainability expertise

o Opportunity: biomimicry knowledge and expertise exist

Torben Lenau lenau@mek.dtu.dkLilli Linkola lilli.linkola@ethica.fiAnna Maria Orrù amo@annamariaorru.com 32