Consider the body's power to heal itself of scrapes and cuts.When we cut ourselves, sticky cells called platelets clump together near the wound to create a plug that stops the bleeding and begins the healing.The value of the same sort of process in light polymer composites that can be used to produce things like aircraft fuselage becomes obvious. The new composite materials being developed are called self-healing plastics. They are made from hollow fibers filled with epoxy resin that is released if the fibers suffer serious stresses and cracks. This creates a 'scab' nearly as strong as the original material. Such self-healing materials could be used to make planes, cars and even spacecraft that will be lighter, more fuel efficient, and safer
Everyone is trying to figure out future robots as machines that looks, moves and acts like a human. Perhaps humans may not be the best biological models for really useful robots. For mobility, insect-like ability to cover varied terrain, climb surfaces and provide stability seems to work better. Insect eyes offer greater resolution and panoramic range for exploring places people cannot go, and the ability to quickly adapt to changing environments (or even to spy on enemies undetected) make those annoying toy insect robots a forerunner for future applications in exploration and defense.
Another nature inspired design for the automobile industry, Daimler-Chrysler has developed a new concept car inspired by exterior design was modeled after the yellow box-fish (Ostraciun Cubicus), a tropical fish that lives in coral reefs. The designers achieved an aerodynamic ideal that boasts 20% less fuel consumption and as much as an 80% reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions. It is diesel powered and can be able to run on bio-diesel fuel at a 70 miles per gallon.
