Tagged: biomimicry

Biomimicry in Model Rocketry

Model rocketry has a frequently hostile relationship with nature. Hard desert floors shatter swiftly falling rockets, ponds drown them, high grass hides them, and high winds carry them away. So many rockets drift into the forests that inevitably surround launch fields that my local club joking acronyms itself “Carefully Arranged Tree Ornaments”. But model rocketry […]

The Unmanned Ornithopter

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the first people to truely dive into the depths of trying to create and design the ornithopter, a machine shaped like an aircraft that is held aloft and propelled by wing movements. He focused much of time and effort trying to sketch a design where the aircraft would be […]

Robotic Bat Biomimicry

Micro-aerial vehicles (MAVs) are small flyers that have become a point of interest due to their potential use as maneuverable stealth devices.  A recent project of some researchers at two universities may have developed an amazing new spy device based on the biomimicry of bats.  One of the main researches by the name of Gheorghe […]

AeroVironment, Inc.’s Nano Hummingbird

The flight of a hummingbird has been fascinating to study since it is able to fly backwards and hover. The amount of energy it must use to flap its wings 12-90 times per second seems impossible for a creature its size. It  also manages to control its flight so precisely that it can  point its […]

Shinkansen “bullet trains”: Biomimicry at it’s best.

Being an engineer is difficult. Not only do you have an extremely demanding workload and challenging classes, but you also get the prejudice of being, well, a nerd. “Oh, you’re an engineer? Never mind, you probably haven’t even been camping.” or “I guessed you probably don’t like animals because, you know, you’re  an engineer.” are the […]