How is it possible that certain types of fish disappear in sight of their predator in the open sea? This was a mystery that until November 2015 was without a solution. It was then that a group of North American researchers found the answer: because their skin reflects polarized light, and let’s not forget that underwater light is usually polarized, that is, light waves always vibrate in the same plane. It was already known that more than 60% of fish species have the ability to detect variations in this type of light, but in this case there are some fish that go one step further and use it to camouflage themselves. According to Molly Cummings, a biology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, “if we can identify how they do it, we can improve our camouflage technology.” It is not surprising that the US Navy has financed this research: for years they have sought ways to hide their ships from observation satellites. In previous work published in 2013 this team found that a fish well known for its ability to camouflage, the tufted humpback, was capable of manipulating the polarization of light to its own advantage. In this new study, the researchers compared the camouflage ability of the fish with that of a mirror. After analyzing more than 1,500 different cases, they discovered that two species that live in the open sea, the aforementioned tufted humpback and the Selar crumenophthalmus , have a much more effective way of camouflaging themselves using polarized light than using a mirror.
Velcro, first biomimetic research
This case is a clear example of what is called biomimicry , or the development of technology inspired by nature. The first to look to nature to solve a technological problem was Leonardo da Vinci , who carefully studied the flight of birds to design a flying device: unfortunately his solution did not come to fruition. Quite the opposite of the Wright brothers, who were inspired by the flight of pigeons to design their first airplane.
But the first success of biomimicry came in 1941, when the Swiss engineer George de Mestral decided to answer a question that intrigued him: why did the seeds of the Arctium Minus plant cling to clothing? With his microscope he found that it was due to hooks that covered the surface of these seeds. De Mestral decided to design a system that copied this clever mechanism, and thus Velcro was born, whose name is derived from the French velours (velvet) and crochet (hook). That De Mestral chose the second word is obvious, but what about the first? Because the Swiss liked the way it sounded.
Study the fish to avoid car collisions
Little by little throughout the 20th century, and especially at the beginning of this century, many researchers and companies followed the path begun by De Mestral: seeking technological solutions by looking at what nature had developed after millions of years of evolution. Thus the car company Nissan studies the behavior patterns of schools of fish, which follow these three simple rules: don’t go too far, don’t get too close and don’t hit me. In this way they intend to ensure that cars can move autonomously without colliding with each other. His project EPORO (Episode 0 Robot), consists of six prototype units that communicate with each other to avoid any type of collision. Of course, for this they must see each other, which they achieve through the Laser Range Finder (LRF), a technology inspired by the compound eyes of bumblebees, whose field of vision exceeds 300 degrees.
Biomimicry takes us into a new way of approaching technology, given that human and natural technology have always been radically different. “Just look around us -wrote biologist Steven Vogel in his book Haunches and Levers- . We have right angles everywhere. But if we then look at a field, a park, or a forest, where are the right angles? There are none? Yes, but they are rare. Our constructions are dry and rigid structures while nature prefers them moist and flexible ; we depend heavily on metals while nature has never needed them; to move around we use the wheel but nature has never used it.
biomimetic architecture
The architect Michael Pawlyn is one of those who most strongly advocates learning from nature to ensure a sustainable future: “biomimicry has many of the solutions that we are going to need in the future.If we start doing things the way nature does, we can save energy and resources by a factor of 10, 100, and even 1,000.”. An example is found in certain desert beetles of the genusStenocara, They live in the Namib desert off the coast of Namibia. A) Yes,the structure of their elytra (front wings) allows them to condense on them the drops of water carried by the breeze that comes from the Atlantic to the dunes where they live. To do this, at dawn, they are placed in position on the highest. The trick is that when the wind carries water droplets in the mist and they land on a hydrophilic (having an affinity for water) surface such as clean glass or stone, the water droplet flattens out on it due to forces. electrostatic that appear between the water molecules and those of the surface in question. The consequence of this flattening is that the cross section of the drop becomes so small that the wind itself cannot drag it and it remains on the surface. And not only that, but due to the affinity that water molecules have for each other, this watery surface also attracts other droplets from the mist. Thus, as Andrew R. Parker, a zoologist at the University of Oxford, and Chris R. Lawrence, a scientist at QinetiQ, a multinational defense research company based in Farnborough, England, discovered in 2004 , the beetlesStenocara they capture the water with their elytra until they form a drop that will end up slipping into their mouth, since the insect places them so that they have a 45º slope.
This very elegant way of collecting water has great applications, such as fog collectors in especially exposed airports and, above all, collecting water from the environment in especially desert places. In fact, different technologies inspired by this beetle are already working in 22 African countries.
It is really difficult to compete with the technological finesse of nature marked by millions of years of evolution . We have an example in one of our most annoying guests, the mosquito. There is no better hypodermic needle than the sucking device of the female of these annoying Diptera : it incorporates cutting elements, anesthetic and anticoagulant inoculating drills and of course the suction pump. And all gathered in a single contraption.
There is no doubt that much of the technology of the future involves biomimicry: it is estimated that by 2025 its turnover could reach 300 billion dollars in the US alone.
References:
Benyus, J. M. (2002) Biomimicry, William Morrow & Co
Vogel, S. (2000) Haunches and levers, Tusquets
