Biomimicry: How animals and nature are shaping modern technology

Humans are the world's greatest builders. But we've also learned a thing or two from our furry and feathered friends. From beaver dams to less obvious sources of inspiration such as owl feathers, engineers have been learning from nature for a long time.

The practice of designing and manufacturing materials, structures and systems modeled after nature is known as biomimicry. Engineers and architects can mimic the form of biology by copying physical features found in nature, or they can mimic processes by replicating systems and workflows found in nature.

Vox Media explains this best with the story of a high-speed train designed by a birdwatcher.

Even modern inventions such as air conditioning and ventilation systems can be found in the animal world. Ants and prairie dogs build huge underground burrows equipped with ventilation systems to keep the air circulating and prevent CO2 from building up inside. During the day, the burrows keep the heat out, and at night they let cool air in. This PBS video shows how we can learn from these tiny diggers.

Inspiration from animals even goes into the design of robots. Watch how these robots mimic sloths.

Many of the problems we humans face today are the same ones that nature has been struggling with for millions of years. Sometimes you just have to look to the amazing power of evolution to solve these problems!