Deconstructing the design of a biological material.
By identifying the functional conflicts in its design, the cuticle of arthropods can be shown to cope with IR and UV irradiation in the same manner as our technology-by controlling spectral properties (transmission and reflection). However, the skeletal properties of cuticle are integrated with demands for sensory transmission, movement, etc, by controlling the local properties of the material rather than by changing global parameters (which would be the technical solution). On the basis of this study, the biomimetic similarity of cuticle with technology is only about 20%, suggesting that we can learn from the design of arthropod cuticle.
Vincent
Julian F V
JF
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Biomimetic and Natural Technologies, The University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK. j.f.v.vincent@bath.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000502:physiology*; D032701:Biomimetics; D001704:Biopolymers; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004817:Epidermis; D008422:Materials Testing; D008954:Models, Biological; D012879:Skin Physiological Phenomena
D001704:Biopolymers