biomimicry

Biomimicry (or biomimetics) is the emulation of natural elements to solve problems. The term biomimetics was coined by American biophysicist Otto Herbert Schmitt.

Bionics is the science of systems which have some function copied from nature, or which represent characteristics of natural systems or their analogues.

The three essential elements of biomimicry, according to the Biomimicry Institute:

• Emulation: The attentive practice of learning from nature’s forms and processes to guide human innovation and to create more regenerative design solutions.
• Ethical framework: A commitment to apply lessons learned from life’s systems in a manner that creates conditions conducive to life, and a recognition that we have a responsibility to conserve and protect that which we are learning from.
• (Re)connection: Acknowledgement that humans and our activities are not separate from nature, but are a part of nature, affecting and affected by all other organisms within Earth’s interconnected systems. As a practice, reconnecting with nature encourages us to observe and spend time in nature to better understand how life works so that we may more effectively appreciate and emulate biological strategies in our designs.