Movement bionics

The movement Bionics is one of the branches of bionics . It deals with powerful, energy-efficient and low-friction locomotion. These include the three main types of locomotion: running, swimming and flying. The aim is to optimize the movement of technical objects by taking a closer look at the flow adjustment and the drive mechanism as well as the mechanical efficiency.

Examples of inspired products

Many living beings are an excellent source of inspiration for vehicle design, here are a few examples:

The Mercedes-Benz bionic car

The boxfish is an important source of inspiration for the auto industry. Even if the ratio of height, width and length is very voluminous and actually does not correspond to the streamlined physique, it embodies an auto-ideal for researchers. The flow resistance of a body is given by the so-called Cw value. The Cw value of the boxfish is 0.06; closely followed by the inspired Mercedes-Benz bionic car with a Cd value of 0.19. It says: the lower the Cw value, the lower the resistance and thus also the consumption. So top conditions for the auto industry! Studies have shown that the Bionic Car is 20% more economical than a comparable series model. The bionic car is therefore not only very far ahead in the compact class, but also in other classes, such as B. in the high-speed vehicles.

The submarine buoyancy

The swim bladder that the fish have is the so-called diving cell in the submarines. In order to be able to submerge, the cell is filled with water, so that weight is gained and the boat gets underdrive and thus sinks. When the desired water depth is reached, the water supply is stopped. The submarine can now float in the water. To surface again, the water is drained off and the diving cell is filled with air that comes from existing pressure bottles. Since air has a significantly lower density than water, the boat gets buoyancy and rises. Overall, the following applies: Without the inspiration of the swim bladder, regulating ascent and descent is impossible.

Shark skin on airplanes

Sharks are especially known for their rapid locomotion, which is primarily due to their skin. This consists of many small scales that are arranged in such a way that there is very little surface resistance. Because of the groove structure (also called riblet ), which extends over the entire shark body, water particles can easily flow along the streamlined body without creating friction. The engineer Dietrich W. Bechertals took exactly this functionality as a model and in the early 1990s he developed a film with the same structure and affixed it to aircraft. Test flights showed that it led to a friction reduction of up to eight percent, which corresponds to up to three percent less fuel per long-haul flight.

literature

Allen, Robert: The bulletproof plumage. How nature teaches us technology. Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8274-2775-5 .