Biomimetics

Product and packaging ideas inspired by nature

Faraday hosted the biomimetics conference for product and packaging at the sustainability conference centre in Doncaster yesterday. Attended by innovation specialists from the FMCG sector thesession was chaired by Dr Phil Richardson, chief executive of Thoughtcrew.

Dr Cathy Barnes runs Faraday, which is part of the University of Leeds. Cathy and her team provide a service which is a fusion between academia and industry with a specific expertise in product and packaging development for consumers. Professor Julina Vincent, a leader in biomimetics stressed the need to full define the problem focusing on the function required. Professor Andrew Parker from the Natural History Museum explained that nature uses seven different methods to create colour and how these principles has been used in developing solar panels that had an increase in energy performance.

Dr Stephen Eichorn from the Northwest Composites Centre at the University of Manchester shared the physics behind cellulose whiskers and how they could be utilised in creating tough transparent materials. The direction of the day shifted when Dr Dominic Johnson from the University of Edinburgh explained how the behaviours and patterns from biology were being used to predict terrorist and insurgent activities. The potential application to the activities of competitors was raised.

The case for biomimetics continues to build with another successful demonstration of how the science is leading to new commercial products. Phil Richardson added that this thinking has also been proven to change business culture – an essential step to getting adoption of biomimetics and the start point to biologize your business.

© 2011 Biologize.