What is bionics?
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The word bionics is made up of the two words biology and electronics. In German,
however, the second part comes from 'Technik', which means engineering in this context. This approach
of combining biology and engineering is often also called biomimetics in English and we use
these two expressions more or less synonymously.
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Deciphering 'inventions of nature' and
transfering
them into technological innovations.
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The interdisciplinary field of bionics is about scrutinizing and transferring 'natural inventions'
into technical applications. In the course of evolution, nature has developed, improved and tested
these inventions over millions of years. In a first step, the optimized solutions to a specific set
of problems have to be thoroughly analyzed. In a second step, the newly described solutions can be
implemented in technical applications with corresponding boundary conditions. This does not imply
an exact copy of nature, which would not work in most cases. Rather, bionics tries to elaborate the
basic principles so that they can be abstracted or detached from the biological model. Subsequently,
the abstractions are transferred into technical applications. This is why the dialogue between
biologists and engineers is probably the most crucial factor for a successful and efficient
implementation of biological answers to engineering problems.
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Bionics is the science of cooperation
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Bionics is therefore not a means of producing blueprints for engineering, but thrives on the
exchange between experts of various disciplines. During everyday work, the boundaries between
different disciplines are commonly crossed in a very interdisciplinary way. Thus, new disciplines
and fields of expertise can emerge, e.g.
- Structural bionics – constructions of nature
- Processing bionics: methods and processes of nature
- Information bionics – means of data transfer, developmental, and evolutionary strategies
Once the biological solutions are known and the abstracted principles are well-communicated, the
possible technical applications are manifold and cannot be foreseen. The self-cleaning effect of
the lotus flower (Lotus-Effect®), for example, can be applied to things as diverse as wall paints,
roof tiles, and textiles. The potential for innovations is enormous – a fact, which is being more
and more recognized by companies and decision-makers.
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Historisches
zur Bionik
O. Lilienthal mit seinem
Schlagflügelapparat 1893
(Otto-Lilienthal-Museum
 )
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Bionisch inspirierte
Industrieprodukte
Lotusblatt
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Aktuelle Projekte
innerhalb des BIOKON
Bionischer Greifer
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