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Protected "Bionics" [edit=autoconfirmed:move=autoconfirmed]
<p><strong>Bionics</strong> (the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. <br /><br />It is also known as <strong>biomimetics</strong>, <strong>biognosis</strong>, <strong>biomimicry</strong>, or <strong>bionical creativity engineering.</strong>) is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology. <br /><br />The word 'bionic' was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958, possibly originating from the Greek word "βίον", pronounced "bion", meaning "unit of life" and the suffix -ic, meaning "like" or "in the manner of", hence "like life". Some dictionaries, however, explain the word as being formed from "<strong>bio</strong>logy" + "electro<strong>nics</strong>"</p>
<p>The transfer of technology between lifeforms and synthetic constructs is, according to proponents of bionic technology, desirable because evolutionary pressure typically forces living organisms, including fauna and flora, to become highly optimized and efficient. A classical example is the development of dirt- and water-repellent paint (coating) from the observation that the surface of the lotus flower plant is practically unsticky for anything (the lotus effect). Examples of bionics in engineering include the hulls of boats imitating the thick skin of dolphins; sonar, radar, and medical ultrasound imaging imitating the echolocation of bats.</p>
<p>In the field of computer science, the study of bionics has produced artificial neurons, artificial neural networks, and swarm intelligence. Evolutionary computation was also motivated by bionics ideas but it took the idea further by simulating evolution in silico and producing well-optimized solutions that had never appeared in nature.</p>
<p>It is estimated by Julian Vincent, professor of biomimetics at the University of Bath in the UK, that "at present there is only a 10% overlap between biology and technology in terms of the mechanisms used".</p>
<p> </p>
<h2p><span class="mw-headline"><font size="5">History</font></span></h2p>
<p>The name biometics was coined by Otto Schmitt in the 1950s. The term bionics was coined by Jack E. Steele in 1958 while working at the Aeronautics Division House at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. However, biomimicry or biomimetics is more preferred in technology world in efforts to avoid confusion between the medical term bionics.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2p><span class="mw-headline"><font size="5">Methods</font></span></h2p>
<p>Often, the study of bionics emphasizes implementing a function found in nature rather than just imitating biological structures. For example, in computer science, cybernetics tries to model the feedback and control mechanisms that are inherent in intelligent behavior, while artificial intelligence tries to model the intelligent function regardless of the particular way it can be achieved.</p>
<p>The conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies is a form of applied case-based reasoning, treating nature itself as a database of solutions that already work. Proponents argue that the selective pressure placed on all natural life forms minimizes and removes failures.</p>
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<p> </p>
<h2p><span class="mw-headline"><font size="5">Examples of biomimetics</font></span></h2p>
<ul>
<li>Velcro is the most famous example of biomimetics. In 1948, the Swiss engineer George de Mestral was cleaning his dog of burrs picked up on a walk when he realized how the hooks of the burrs clung to the fur. </li>
</ul>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div class="thumbinner" style="WIDTH: 202px"><img class="thumbimage" height="150" alt="Lotus leaf surface, rendered: microscopic view" width="200" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Lotus3.jpg/200px-Lotus3.jpg" width="200" border="0" />
<div class="thumbcaption">
<div class="magnify"><img height="11" alt="" width="15" src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" width="15" /></div>
Lotus leaf surface, rendered: microscopic view</div>
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</ul>
<p> </p>
<h2p><span class="mw-headline"><font size="5">Specific uses of the term</font></span></h2p>
<p> </p>
<h3><span class="mw-headline">In medicine</span></h3>
<h2><span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>[http://biomatics.org Biomatics.org]</li> <li>[http://biomathematics.org Biomathematics.org]</li> <li>[http://bioinfra.org Bioinfra.org]</li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.ccnmag.com/story.php?id=197" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ccnmag.com/story.php?id=197" rel="nofollow">Technology And The Quality Of Life: Part One--A Vision Of The Future</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0,,0-5-7154-1-503504-1-0-0-503518-0-0-8-10736-0-0-0-0-0-0-0,00.html" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.daimlerchrysler.com/dccom/0,,0-5-7154-1-503504-1-0-0-503518-0-0-8-10736-0-0-0-0-0-0-0,00.html" rel="nofollow">Boxfish - DaimlerChrysler</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.bionics2space.org/" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.bionics2space.org/" rel="nofollow">Bionics2Space: Bionics & Space System Design</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/" rel="nofollow">Biomimicry Institute</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.biomimicryguild.com" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.biomimicryguild.com/" rel="nofollow">Biomimicry Guild</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.livescience.com/technology/050118_abalone_armor.html" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.livescience.com/technology/050118_abalone_armor.html" rel="nofollow">LiveScience on Biomimetic armour</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-11-17T082425Z_01_L1751091_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-MIDEAST-WEAPONS-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-NextArticle-1" rel="nofollow" href="http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-11-17T082425Z_01_L1751091_RTRIDST_0_SCIENCE-MIDEAST-WEAPONS-DC.XML&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-C2-NextArticle-1" rel="nofollow">Israel developing anti-militant "bionic hornet"</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=321" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=321" rel="nofollow">An overview of biomimetics/biomimicry at the Science Creative Quarterly</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.ric.org/about/news/pr_display.php?id=319" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ric.org/about/news/pr_display.php?id=319" rel="nofollow">Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago's Neuro-Controlled Bionic Arm</a>. </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.sigmorobot.com/technology/news/toast_bionic_man.htm" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.sigmorobot.com/technology/news/toast_bionic_man.htm" rel="nofollow">Neural Interface bionic Arm</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.biomimetics.org.uk" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.biomimetics.org.uk/" rel="nofollow">Biomimetics Network for Industrial Sustainability (BIONIS)</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://furtech.typepad.com/feather_and_fur_technolog" rel="nofollow" href="http://furtech.typepad.com/feather_and_fur_technolog" rel="nofollow">FurTech outdoor clothing using feather and fur technology.</a> </li>
</ul>
<p><a id="References" name="References"></a></p>
<h2><span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2>
<ol class="references">
<li id="_note-0"><strong><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionics#_ref-0">^</a></strong> <a class="external text" title="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/sto_lotusan_bio.php" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/09/sto_lotusan_bio.php" rel="nofollow">Nelumbo lotus inspiration for self-cleaning paint</a> </li>
</ol>
<ul>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/biomimetics/index.htm" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.esa.int/gsp/ACT/biomimetics/index.htm" rel="nofollow">European Space Agency - Advanced Concepts Team Biomimetics Website</a> </li> <li><a class="external text" title="http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.biomimicryinstitute.org/" rel="nofollow">Bioimicry Institute</a> </li>
<li>Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. 1997. <a title="Janine Benyus" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janine_Benyus">Janine Benyus</a>. </li>
<li>Biomimicry for Optimization, Control, and Automation, Springer-Verlag, London, UK, 2005, Kevin M. Passino </li>
<li><a class="external text" title="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65642,00.html?tw=wn_story_top5" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,65642,00.html?tw=wn_story_top5" rel="nofollow"><em>Ideas Stolen Right From Nature</em></a> (<a class="mw-redirect" title="Wired Magazine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Magazine">Wired Magazine</a>) </li>
<li>Bionics and Engineering: The Relevance of Biology to Engineering, presented at Society of Women Engineers Convention, Seattle, WA, 1983, Jill E. Steele </li>
<li>Bionics: Nature as a Model. 1993. PRO FUTURA Verlag GmbH, München, Umweltstiftung WWF Deutschland </li>
<h2><span class="mw-headline">Notes</span></h2>
<ol>
<li><cite id="endnote_syntheticplants" style="FONT-STYLE: normal"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionics#ref_syntheticplants"><strong>^</strong></a></cite> Woodley, M. A. (2005). "Synthetic Vegetation: An Ecosystem Prosthesis", <em>Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech,</em> <strong>2:4</strong>, 395-398. <a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.ceers.org/ijest/issues/abstract_result.asp?ID=204014" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ceers.org/ijest/issues/abstract_result.asp?ID=204014" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> </li>
</ol>